Ferguson confident that Roma's fans will be safe at Old Trafford

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted to being appalled by images of crowd violence at the Stadio Olimpico but it was a reflection of his priorities and his influence on tonight's Champions League quarter-final with Roma that, even without the injured Louis Saha, the Manchester United manager insisted a revenge attack would only occur on the Old Trafford pitch.

A delicate atmosphere surrounds a second-leg tie that will seriously test Ferguson's maxim that how a team responds to defeat determines whether it is destined to be immortalised or forgotten, with the 2-1 deficit that confronts United only the secondary cause. The ambushes and multiple stabbings suffered by United supporters before last week's first leg in the Italian capital, coupled with the excessive response of local police to disturbances amongst the travelling section during the game, has raised concerns of reprisals for the 3,800 Roma fans expected at the game.

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Ferguson, however, believes English security measures will ensure there is no repeat tonight when, he hoped, the Old Trafford faithful will be occupied with their side's attempt to overcome a first-leg deficit for the first time in the Champions League knock-out stages.

"I don't anticipate any problems at all," the United manager said yesterday. "The security at Old Trafford is fantastic and I don't envisage the Roma fans having any problems inside our stadium. There is no history of trouble at Old Trafford and the Roma fans have nothing to fear." Ferguson missed the fall-out from the first leg owing to the squad's extended stay in Rome but has since studied footage of the night as United continue to collect evidence for an anticipated Home Office inquiry into events involving the Italian police. Uefa have opened their own investigation into the violence. The United manager added: "We missed a lot of what was shown back here but we have since seen some photos and they don't look very nice at all. Everyone was appalled at the pictures, but now Uefa are investigating and we should wait to see their findings. Hopefully it will be a thorough investigation as that is the only way to find these things out."

With problems beyond his control dominating the pre-match agenda, it was little surprise that Ferguson yesterday brusquely dismissed his side's inability to overturn a first-leg defeat on five occasions in the Champions League - "It's only happened a few times, always by the odd goal, and we do not have a bad record here at Old Trafford," he insisted - or that he lacks the options to bring to bear on his promise to attack the Italian defence.

Saha is out after reporting a tight hamstring in training, leaving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Alan Smith vying for a starting role, and with Paul Scholes suspended following his dismissal in the first leg, plus Park Ji-Sung out for at least a fortnight with a knee problem, United are suffering in every department as they seek an emphatic response to successive defeats in Europe and in the Premiership.

"We always recover, we recover well," said the Scot. "We went on a long unbeaten run after losing to Arsenal in October, West Ham at New Year and Arsenal the season before. We have always recovered with long unbeaten runs. This club is made of that, it is not a problem for us. Losing a game is not unusual in football, it is what you do about it that makes a team.

"I think we are in a good position for this game. I'm pleased that we managed to get a goal with 10 men, and when we did, Roma became nervous for a period. Tomorrow our attacking impetus will be much, much stronger, much more apparent.

"I think we'll create chances but in my experience of Europe we have missed a lot of chances, particularly in two semi- finals here. If we can take them this time, we'll have a massive chance."