After his side's comfortable passage into the Champions League final, which set up an enthralling finale against Barcelona, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said the Catalans' reputation didn't scare his side.

Man United progressed to the final after an aggregate win of 6-1 over German minnows Schalke 04. United had fielded a second-string side, resting their key players ahead of Sunday's crucial Premiership showdown against Chelsea, but the watching Pep Guardiola, Barcelona manager, would have been impressed as even a weakened United side proved too much for Schalke.

Taking into consideration Schalke's 7-3 aggregate win over holders Inter Milan en route to the final, United's win is glorified all the more.

With Barcelona, widely dubbed the world's greatest side, in the final though, United have reason to be wary. The Catalans progressed with a 3-1 aggregate win over bitter-rivals Real Madrid in the semis, proving they can be as much a physical side as an entertaining one.

However, Sir Alex has denied suggestions that United will be terrorized by Barca's reputation saying, I wish it was Brechin City or someone like that because at the start of the season, if you were looking at getting to the final, you'd think: 'Steer clear of Barcelona. Their performances are there for everyone to see but we've done our job well, Wembley is a neutral ground and we'll be well prepared.

I don't think we should be going there lacking confidence. Their form has been very good, we're playing a fantastic team but there shouldn't be a sense of terror. We can't be frightened out of our skin. We've got to find a solution to playing against them.

It is a replay of the 2009 final, when Barcelona were comfortable 2-0 victors and Ferguson admitted that he could seek the help of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho on how to neutralize the threat posed by Lionel Messi.

We'll take the information because José is very helpful that way. But it's not as if we haven't seen them before ourselves. We've watched them many times this season.

He then went on to shed light on his team selection, admitting he had a sleepless night on deciding which team to put out.

I didn't sleep last night thinking about it. I woke up four times, picking different teams. A semi-final is such an important game it does put doubt in your mind about whether you are doing the right thing, but I feel vindicated now.

It wasn't an easy decision but the Arsenal result (losing 1-0 on Sunday) forced the situation. There was an emotional tiredness so I had to make that decision. If it had been a tight result in the first leg, we couldn't have done it but the two goals gave us enough leeway. We'll have a fresh team on Sunday and we'll go for it.

Manchester United face Chelsea in a premiership decider on Sunday, as the Blues are just three points behind United with two games left. It could be a classic.

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