Single semi-final appearances by Leeds, United and Chelsea has been all the Premiership representatives have been able to manage since that famous night in Barcelona, while clubs from Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal have all gone on to reach the final.

Ferguson is adamant the only reason for such a lack of success is a crowded domestic programme that offers no time for proper preparation.

And, by cramming as many matches as possible into the period when pitches are at their heaviest, the United chief thinks the fixture planners are just making matters worse.

“Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are as good as any team in Europe but by the time it gets to March and April our players are physically not at their best,” he said.

“Including the two games just after new year, we could have nine matches in 30-odd days from the beginning of December.

“It’s the time of year when pitches are at their heaviest and it takes its toll in terms of quality.”

Over the last few years, United and Arsenal have been in a minority of two when they have called for the Premiership to be reduced to 18 from its current 20.

Even attempts to manipulate the fixture list, such as two years ago when United asked the Premier League to postpone a home game with Aston Villa that fell in the middle of six-day period when they had arduous trips to Greece and Cyprus met with a negative response.

And it is that lack of help compared with the aid extended to the English clubs’ major rivals that Ferguson thinks leaves the Premiership giants at such a massive disadvantage.

“If French teams are playing in Europe on a Wednesday, they can bring the previous league game forward to a Friday,” he said.

“Last season when we played Porto, they postponed their weekend league fixture altogether. The help other clubs get from their own associations is a reason for a lot of their success because it has given them proper preparation.

“We do not have that advantage. I realise it is very difficult for the Premier League to change fixtures simply because we have to play so many matches but it’s the obvious reason why no English club has won the Champions League since we did it.”

Not that Ferguson will be able to cite tiredness as an excuse if United do not get their 15th European campaign under his command off to a winning start against Lyon.

More likely, the Scot will be bemoaning the massive injury list he has been facing during the early weeks of a campaign which has not got off to the best of starts.

He freely admitted John O’Shea only made the travelling party because he is desperate for defensive cover as the Irishman is nowhere near 100% fit after his recent thigh muscle tear.

Rio Ferdinand was also among the squad that flew out to France today but while the England defender is tantalisingly close to a return from his eight-month ban, Ferguson will have to wait until Monday’s Premiership encounter with Liverpool before he can select his £29.3m (€43m) centre-half.

With Gary Neville out for a month with a fractured kneecap, Ferguson will be forced to rely on the same defence that conceded two dreadful goals at Bolton on Saturday.

The consistency in selection will help his team but the United manager knows that against a side containing former Arsenal forward Sylvain Wiltord among its strikeforce, a repeat of those sloppy errors will prove very costly.

“We will always try to win games in Europe because that is the nature of our club,” said Ferguson.

“But it is also important that we don’t give goals away. We lost two bad goals at Bolton on Saturday and you just hope the message gets through to the players.

“If we can keep a clean sheet it gives the rest of the team a chance to go forward with more conviction.”