Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will seek tips from old rival Jose Mourinho on how to beat Barcelona in the Champions League final after cruising past Schalke 04.

Although Ferguson is not frightened of the favorites he will welcome any tips from Real Madrid's boss Mourinho whose side beat the Catalans in the Copa del Rey final.

"I speak to him quite a lot. I spoke to him last week," Ferguson told a news conference when asked about Mourinho, an old sparring partner of the Scot in his Chelsea days.

"We will depend on our own knowledge of Barcelona, it's not like we've never seen them before. (But) you always take information from him (Mourinho) because he's always helpful like that."

Mourinho's Real was Barca's European semifinal victims on Tuesday but success in the domestic cup proves that the hot favorites can be beaten.

"I don't think we should be going there lacking in confidence... We can't be frightened out of our skins," Ferguson said. "Our job is to find a solution when playing against them."

Second man

Ferguson has become only the second man to lead his teams into as many as six European finals - one with Aberdeen and now five with United including four Champions League finals.

Italian Giovanni Trapattoni is the only manager to have steered his teams to seven European finals.

While Ferguson fielded a mainly fringe side for the second leg against Schalke, making nine changes from the first leg, he will need all his big guns and the experience they bring when they face Barca and their exquisite passing game.

"We were favorites last time (2009)," said Ferguson. "We will be a little bit more experienced but they are at their peak in terms of ability. That experience has shown in terms of our away form in Europe. It should be a really good final."

United did not concede in any of its Champions League away games this season and has only let in four goals in total.