O'Shea dreams of different ending

John O'Shea has voiced his pride at leading Manchester United into the Champions League final.

O'Shea was handed the armband at Old Trafford in the absence of Nemanja Vidic, and the team responded by routing Schalke 4-1 on the night and 6-1 on aggregate in the European semi-final.

"I was delighted the manager named me as captain," O'Shea said. "It was a fantastic occasion but the most important thing was we got the performance and the win we needed."

He added: "Some of the performances that the lads put in really showed how strong the squad is. We could have scored a few more goals but we are very happy with the end result.

"We lacked the same intensity as we normally do against Arsenal at the weekend as the boys put in such a great performance in Schalke. The manager did take a risk but he also had faith in the squad."

United will now face Barcelona - conquerors of Real Madrid - at Wembley on May 28, but O'Shea is refusing to look too far ahead.

Instead he is focusing on the league campaign with games to come against struggling Blackburn and Blackpool following the showdown with the reigning champions.

United lost to Barcelona in the 2009 final and O' Shea said: "We watched the game closely against Madrid. They got through it quite well but we can put it to one side. We have three huge games in Manchester United's history before another massive match."