Sir Alex Ferguson has urged his Manchester United players to take inspiration from Padraig Harrington's defence of his Open Championship as they look to repeat their success of last season.

The United manager has conceded that winning big competitions in successive years is tough and he has challenged his players to emulate the Irish golfer's focus in retaining the Premier League title and the European Cup. "It is terribly difficult to do," Ferguson said. "Harrington was so cool and showed to me he had the bottle. When he needed to perform in the last six holes, he had four birdies. His second shot at the 17th, right on the pin ... unbelievable. He thoroughly deserved the victory."

On retaining the European Cup, Ferguson said: "It can be done. It is a challenge for us but there is nothing wrong with challenges. They are good for you."

Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are all determined to prolong their careers at Old Trafford, but according to Ferguson, a clutch of younger players are once again ready to make the breakthrough. "When we signed those young lads, we thought they had the potential to go on and do well," he said. "They have now come to an age where we need to start making big decisions on them. We have to decide whether they should go on loan again or whether they can join our squad of 23 players.

"I would be delighted with that. It is a challenge for them as the standard of our team is high."