• Preparation involves 'discretion and secrecy'
• Manager has personal experience after incident in 2005

Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his concerns about the news that one of Fabio Capello's team-talks was bugged during England's preparations for their friendly against Egypt last week.

Ferguson was speaking from personal knowledge after a device was planted in the home dressing room at Old Trafford before a game against Chelsea in 2005 and the tape was offered to newspapers.

'It happened to us once before,' Ferguson said. 'I would be concerned about it. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven't revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the match [against Milan] tomorrow. I haven't been asked [by reporters] and do you know why? Because I wouldn't tell anyone. Why should I tell anyone? Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team and all of a sudden someone else has got it. So it is a concern.'

Also in the podcast, Tom Clark and Larry Elliott analyse the pros and cons of Germany's plan to introduce an International Monetary Fund for the eurozone. Is the idea for an EMF simply unbelievable (ho ho)?

Finally Nils Pratley, details the viability of the Red Knights as they prepare for battle for control of Manchester United.

Have a listen and post your comments on the blog below, and click here for more details about our live Politics Weekly show in Manchester.

• United manager warns 3-2 first-leg lead is precarious
• Wayne Rooney will be fit to play despite knee injury

There are some nights in the Champions League when it is more than just a football match; it is an occasion. Manchester United versus Milan, under the Old Trafford floodlights, is one of them – even if Sir Alex Ferguson is right and David Beckham is left out by the Rossoneri tonight. Milan will have to be bold and adventurous if they are to recover a 3-2 deficit from the first leg and Ferguson's hunch is that the most recognisable player on the planet will be sacrificed in a game that reads like a Who's Who of the Champions League elite.

Beckham being Beckham, he needed a police escort when he arrived at Manchester airport yesterday, the latest instalment of what his former manager witheringly described as "the David Beckham media circus" a few weeks ago. He was also due for a charm offensive at Milan's press conference until it was pointed out that Uefa rules do not allow the same player to face the microphones before the home and away legs and that Beckham had told us enough times how thrilled he would be to run out at Old Trafford again.

Ferguson, however, does not envisage his former player starting the tie. "He has not started a game since the last time he played us," the United manager pointed out. "I don't know if Beckham will play. I haven't got him down in my conclusions."

Whether it was deliberate or not, the impression from United's manager was that there were other players who concerned him more anyway. Pato is expected to have recovered from a thigh strain while Ferguson has already pinpointed the fit‑again striker Marco Borriello, absent from the first leg, as a serious threat – and that is all before considering the way Ronaldinho tormented Rafael da Silva in the first leg.

Older, leaner, wiser maybe, Ronaldinho has played a part in 24 of Milan's 46 league goals this season, scoring nine and setting up 15. Ferguson could ask Gary Neville to replace Rafael but, at 35, the former England defender now counts as a veteran in football terms and his lack of mobility threatens an even more harrowing ordeal should Ronaldinho be in the same mood. Wes Brown was lined up to play at right‑back but suffered a broken metatarsal in Saturday's win at Wolverhampton Wanderers and has been ruled out for up to six weeks.

The better news for United is that Wayne Rooney is fit after missing the weekend game because of a knee injury. "I looked at him on Friday and didn't think he had any chance," Ferguson reported. "But he has progressed and he plays and, on this form, he would be a threat to anyone. That is what he will provide for us: a real threat up front."

Rooney, in all likelihood, will operate as the lone striker in the 4-3-2-1 system that Ferguson prefers on European nights, which would mean no place again for Dimitar Berbatov, increasingly a fact of life for a player who has started only six of 19 Champions League ties since becoming the club's most expensive player in a £30.75m transfer from Tottenham Hotspur 19 months ago.

Michael Carrick is suspended, while Ryan Giggs, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves are injured, which reduces the options in the midfield, but there should be no undue concern even if Ferguson was determined not to say anything that could be considered presumptuous.United's is a formidable position of strength considering that, in 54 years of European football at Old Trafford, no side has ever beaten them by the two clear goals that Milan will need if they are to turn this tie upside down.

Ferguson, though, senses a renaissance in Serie A. "European football is an ever-changing process. The challenge last year was to get past Barcelona to win the trophy and the Italians were not as good as the Spaniards. But there has been a little shift and the Italian teams are better this year. That's why winning in Milan was a big step forward for Manchester United. It was the first time in four attempts that we had done it. I was delighted with it because, historically, we were playing against one of the best European teams of all time. So it was a landmark victory for us. I can't help but think it was a really, really important win for us – a psychological thing."

A different manager would try to suffocate the game and wind down the clock, but that is not the United way. "I don't think we are very good at defending leads, to be honest," Ferguson said. "The nature of our club is that we have to have a positive attitude. When we went 3-1 ahead in Milan, for instance, it would have been easy to shut up shop but we kept looking for that fourth goal and sometimes it makes games more exciting than they need be.

"We maybe should have killed off the game but then [Clarence] Seedorf's goal near the end keeps the match on a tightrope. Sometimes you get the benefits, sometimes you don't, but the most important thing is that the philosophy is the right one. So we will try to do it our normal way and it will be an open game. I don't think we should be confused by the score of 3-2 – it does not represent a bye into the quarter-finals."

• Manchester United manager recalls similar case at Old Trafford
• 'I would be concerned about it. You have to be'

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted news that the England squad's hotel was bugged last week is a concern.

Although the precise details have not been revealed, it is thought the meeting room at their Watford hotel base for the friendly with Egypt were bugged ahead of the 3‑1 win for Fabio Capello's team.

Ferguson and Manchester United were at the centre of a similar controversy in 2005, when listening devices were found in the home dressing room at Old Trafford after an encounter with Chelsea.

"It happened to us once before," the Scot said. "I would be concerned about it. You have to be. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven't revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the [Milan] match tomorrow. I haven't been asked. And do you know why? Because I wouldn't tell anyone. Why should I tell anyone?

"Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team. All of a sudden someone else has got it. It is a concern."

• In-form striker back after knee injury
• Wes Brown ruled out for four to six weeks

Sir Alex Ferguson promised a fully-committed, attacking performance from his side in tomorrow's Champions League first knock-out round second-leg against Milan, where they will be protecting a 3-2 advantage from the first meeting at San Siro.

They will be aided by the return of Wayne Rooney, who missed Saturday's 1-0 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers with a knee problem. But Ferguson confirmed that Wes Brown, who was injured in that game, will be out for four to six weeks.

"He is fit," Ferguson said of Rooney. "There is a rapid improvement from Saturday morning because on Friday evening I didn't think he had any chance. It's good news. He is a threat to anyone at the moment."

Ferguson insisted that his side would not simply seek to defend the advantage gained in the first leg. "We're going to play our normal game and that includes attacking and always has," he said. "I don't think we should be confused by the 3-2. It's a very difficult game for us, and we'll treat it as such. We're hoping to kill the tie by our own attacking abilities but Milan have to score, which should make it a more open match."

Ferguson also suggested he was disappointed to win the first leg by just a single goal, after Clarence Seedorf scored for Milan with five minutes remaining. "The first 15 minutes was the good spell for them and the bad spell for us," he said. "Once we recovered we played very well and should maybe have killed the match in the second half."

Ferguson did not specify the nature of Brown's injury, but the full-back was known to have hurt his foot after a challenge with the Wolves midfielder Matt Jarvis, and left Molineux wearing a protective boot. There have been rumours that the England international had suffered a broken metatarsal.

The four-to-six-week timescale is at least good news for England, with Brown widely expected to be part of Fabio Capello's squad for the World Cup after playing at right-back against Egypt last week.

"Unfortunately, his career has been blighted with injury," said Ferguson. "He has got another one and will be out for four to six weeks but I hope I can get him back for some of the season."

In addition to Brown, Anderson (knee), Ryan Giggs (arm) and John O'Shea (leg) are also out of tomorrow's game.

• Milan midfielder preparing to return to Old Trafford
• Beating Manchester United will be 'a massive challenge'

David Beckham has called Sir Alex Ferguson "a scary man" ahead of his first game at Old Trafford since he was sold to Real Madrid in 2003. The pair's relationship famously soured towards the end of Beckham's spell at Manchester United, with the manager once kicking a boot that struck Beckham just over the eye, opening a wound that required stitches.

Beckham, currently on loan from LA Galaxy to Milan, will be reunited with Ferguson when he returns to Old Trafford tomorrow night for the second leg of the teams' Champions League tie, with United having won 3-2 in Milan last month.

"It will be good to see him again," the England midfielder, interviewed in the latest issue of Match of the Day magazine, said. "He's a scary man, but in a really good way. He's played such an important role in my life, and during my time at Man United he was like a father figure to me and I will always be grateful for that."

Beckham started the first leg at San Siro, but has more recently been named among the substitutes by the Milan coach, Leonardo, and might find he is limited to a supporting role as his side attempt to recover from their defeat at home. "It is a massive challenge," he said. "To win at Old Trafford is a really big ask, but I love the prospect of big challenges and if I'm given the chance to play and prove what I can still do then that would be a great test for me and the team."

Beckham also said that he still regrets being forced out of Old Trafford. "I wanted to stay for my whole career, but sometimes things aren't meant to be," he said. "I've been to three great clubs since I left United, but it would've been great to stay there like Ryan Giggs has. Being at one club for so long is a real achievement!"

Leonardo is confident the Italians can still turn the tie around. "Football is giving us a great opportunity," he said. "It's extraordinary to go to Old Trafford having to win in an important way. I don't just mean winning 2-0. I mean victory, going there to score goals and play a game against a Manchester side who have their style."

• Top scorer looks set to overcome knee injury
• Ryan Giggs out of contention despite run-out in training

Wayne Rooney has provided Manchester United with a timely Champions League boost by taking part in training ahead of tomorrow's encounter with Milan.

United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said after Saturday's victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, which the striker missed, that Rooney was "a big doubt" for tomorrow's game after aggravating a knee injury on England duty last week.

However, Rooney's presence at Carrington this morning suggests United's top scorer will be involved at Old Trafford as Ferguson's side attempt to reach the last eight of this season's competition at the expense of David Beckham and his team-mates.

Ryan Giggs also trained this morning, after having a plate removed from the arm he broke at Aston Villa recently. But the Welshman was limited to a solo session and Ferguson has already said the winger will not come into contention.

United do have options, though, with Dimitar Berbatov impressing at Molineux on Saturday, and Paul Scholes scoring his 100th Premier League goal. Michael Carrick is, however, suspended following his late dismissal in the San Siro, so Darren Fletcher is expected to return.

It is the sight of Rooney that will cheer United fans the most as they attempt to build on their 3-2 win in Italy. Although the Red Devils have never been knocked out of a two-legged European tie after winning the away leg first, their chances of victory will be significantly enhanced if their 28-goal top scorer is around to help them.