Alex Ferguson furious Manchester United must play a day after Real Madrid

Sir Alex Ferguson has slammed the Premier League and Sky Sports for undermining Manchester United’s Treble bid. Fergie claims United’s chances of beating Real Madrid on Wednesday in the first leg of a Champions League last 16 tie have been dented by the decision to schedule their televised game against Everton on Sunday and as a 4pm kick-off. Jose Mourinho’s Galacticos, in contrast, face Sevilla at the Bernabeu on Saturday night, and Ferguson claims that gives the Spanish champions a definite advantage going into the titanic Euro showdown. “There’s no fairness at all,” said the angry United boss. “It’s ridiculous to think that we play on the Sunday and Real Madrid play on the Saturday with that extra day’s rest. “We’re not giving our teams a chance to be successful in Europe. “It’s nothing to do with the FA, it’s the Premier League - they agreed a contract with TV and they’re in control. “Spain, Italy and Germany all help their clubs. France even more so - there they play on Friday nights. “Teams in other countries make sacrifices for their top teams in Europe. "There’s nothing we can do about it, it’s done.” Ferguson warned Sky's shortsightedness in their scheduling of the Everton game could deny them the chance of being able to broadcast the Old Trafford giants to their millions of supporters in the latter stages of the Champions League. “Maybe we’ll not get there,” he said. “Maybe they’ll suffer for that. “You can’t reject the TV time. What can you do? Not turn up? I’d love to do that! “I’ve complained about it, you’ve heard my complaints - but do you think they’ll listen?” Ferguson claims the shorter recovery period between the Everton and Real Madrid games means he must field two almost completely different line-ups. "The team on Sunday will not be the team that plays on Wednesday in Madrid," he confirmed. “With the squad of players I’ve got, I trust them. They’re all internationals. They’re all good players and there’s not one reason I can’t play them. “So we’ll have a different team on Sunday and a different team on Wednesday.” Meanwhile, Ferguson insists United will not blow the title again as they face the team which cost them the Premier League crown last season. Ferguson believes United’s 4-4 draw against Everton at Old Trafford in April, when they led 4-2 with seven minutes remaining, gifted Manchester City the title. He feels United became sloppy because they held an eight-point lead over City with just six games remaining and insists they will not be so careless this time. “It’s about anticipating the unexpected, and we didn’t do that against Wigan or Everton,” said the United boss. “We were 4-2 up against Everton with seven minutes to go and that definitely cost us the league, no question. “It was a bad blow for us, and it won’t happen again. “The team are playing well, I’m pleased with the form. Sunday is the next stage, then Real Madrid, then the FA Cup. It’s a terrific spell for Manchester United and you can’t help but feel this is the way we should be.” Everton beat United in their opening game of the season and Fergie is wary of the threat posed by David Moyes’ side as they chase a top-four spot. “It’s a tough game,” said Ferguson, who claims Ashley Young, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones are all fit. “David Moyes has got a very strong unit now, very experienced, and as you see from their record, they’ve only lost three games this season. They’re hard to beat and they are a team in the mould of David. “They’re challenging for the top four and they’ve got a genuine chance of the top four. “The race for the title is between ourselves and City, but after that there are Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton. All those teams have a chance. "And Liverpool are starting to get consistency and they have a chance. "Everton are there on merit.” Ferguson feels Everton should be concerned that Moyes has still not signed a new contract, with his current deal due to expire in June. He feels his fellow Glaswegian is key to the Toffees' continued success and says losing him would be a hefty blow for the club. “I’ve read that his contract is up and that’s obviously a concern for Everton,” he said. “It would be a blow to them because he’s a good quality manager with consistency and perseverance. Losing him would be a big, big loss.” Ferguson also hit out at England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce for revealing that Phil Jones missed Tuesday’s win over Sweden because he has been suffering from shingles. He accused Pearce of breaching confidentiality. “Phil Jones hopefully will be okay, irrespective of Stuart Pearce coming out and declaring he has shingles, which we thought was doctors’ confidence,” said the angry Ferguson. “So we’re disappointed in that. It’s nothing serious for the boy. Just a mild condition which surfaced for the boy. “News can leak out and it gets spread about too many places. In the case of this it was the confidence of our doctor with their doctor and it shouldn’t have gone any further. “I haven’t spoken to Stuart Pearce and there’s no need for me to speak to Stuart Pearce.”