Sir Alex Ferguson confident Paul Scholes will extend Manchester United stay & confirms he will rest players against Blackpool

Edwin van der Sar – Manchester United (Getty Images)

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Paul Scholes will extend his stay at the club.

The midfielder, whose contract runs out in the summer, is yet to sign a new deal at Old Trafford and had looked set to retire at the end of the season.

But Sir Alex told reporters: “I don’t think it will be his last game. We have discussed it and I have encouraged him to stay on for another year. We’ll talk at the end of the season.”

The Red Devils boss has also dismissed suggestions that goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar will be rested for the final Premier League fixture of the season against Blackpool, but has confirmed that he will make changes for the match.

The game will be Van der Sar’s final league appearance of his career and Ferguson has said that the Dutchman will be one of several experienced players to feature on Sunday.

But with the Red Devils facing Barcelona in the Champions League final just six days later, Sir Alex has confirmed that he will need to “keep the right energies” ahead of the match at Wembley.

“Obviously people expect me to leave players out and that will be the case. I have to think about next week the Champions League final,” Sir Alex told reporters.

“I have to juggle the balls and make sure I get the right mix and keep the right energies for Barcelona.

“There are players who need a game anyway. Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and Anderson will all play. So will Dimitar Berbatov, Patrice Evra and Van der Sar.”

He added: “We’ll do our fairest to make sure there’s no criticism of the club.

“The only thing you could be criticised for is if you lose a game and it affects other teams. That’s when you should be put under scrutiny for the team you picked.

“Against Hull in 2009 we played all the young players and we won 1-0, so there was no reason to criticise the selection on that occasion. This time it will be the same again. We have to make sure we win.”