ALEX WILL CLEAN UP THE MESSI; CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Walt: He'll make United Euro stars again.

Byline: BYKEITH JACKSON

WALTER SMITH last night backed old friend Sir Alex Ferguson to use the crushing pain of Champions League Final defeat to haul Manchester United back to the top of European football.

The Rangers boss was present in Rome on Wednesday night as one of his oldest friends in football suffered possibly the biggest humiliation of his incredible, trophyladen career at Old Trafford.

Champions of England, champions of Europe, United were taken apart and made to look second rate by a Barcelona side which at times managed to lift football to a whole new level with their slick passing and outrageous flair.

Goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi sealed a 2-0 triumph for the Catalans but it was the ease with which Pep Guardiola's superstars swept to victory that proved to be most startling.

And Smith - who was invited to the Stadio Olimpico as part of a private group of Sir Alex's close friends and family - believes the Godfather of Govan will now be hell bent on proving to the world the gulf between his side and the new champions of Europe is nowhere near as big as it looked during those 90 breathtaking minutes in the Eternal City.

Before flying back to Glasgow yesterday to take charge of his own team for tomorrow's Scottish Cup Final against Falkirk, Smith was quick to warn against any hysterical overreaction to United's abysmal showing.

And he insisted the old warrior Sir Fuwious is never more dangerous than when his pride has been stung.

Smith said: "Defeats hurt all managers and Alex is no different. It doesn't matter if you are Sir Alex Ferguson playing in a European final or any other manager in charge of any other game. All defeats are hugely disappointing.

"But the one thing you can say about Sir Alex is nobody comes back from these setbacks more strongly than he has. That's why no one in football has had a career like his.

"Throughout his time Sir Alex has been inspired by what few defeats he has had to handle. He has come back stronger every time and I fully expect it will be the same this time.

"But the biggest disappointment he'll be feeling right now will come from the fact his team are so much better than they showed the other night."

In fact, Manchester United were monstered by a Barca side which was romping its way to a historic Treble. Ferguson's players simply had no answer to the style and guile of Spanish internationals Andres Iniesta and Xavi who were able to pass and move their way around midfield almost unchallenged.

And yet, even despite all of their exquisite skills, Smith is adamant the La Liga big guns were also aided and abetted by Lady Luck on the night. The man who was slaughtered for successfully squeezing the life out of Barca during a horrible 0-0 draw at Ibrox 19 months ago is convinced United also had the tools to make the Spaniards suffer.

He said: "It was a good game to watch and I found it very interesting to see the way Man United tried to press Barcelona right from the start. For the first 10 or 15 minutes it looked as if they had caught Barca out.

Attitude "The first goal came from Barcelona's first attack of the night but once that went in you could see a big difference in the attitude of their players. It settled them down after a really poor start.

"I honestly believe had United scored first during that opening 10 minutes it would have been a very different match. That would have put United in the ascendancy and made it far more difficult for Barcelona to stick with their patient passing game.

"But once Barca got in front Xavi and Iniesta simply controlled the match. They are special players who move the ball superbly, especially when they have the added comfort of a lead. It can be almost impossible to get the ball off them at times."

Most of all, though, Smith knows Barcelona benefited from a United performance which was way below the standards Ferguson has come to expect.

And that factor, more than any other, will spur on the Old Trafford boss as he chases the greatest trophy in club football for a third time.

Smith said: "It was not a normal Man United performance. They fell below the standards they've set for themselves and that will have been the most disappointing aspect for Sir Alex.

"You also have to take into consideration this was United on a bad night. Even when they have bad nights they usually see more of the ball than they did in Rome.

"But Barcelona have so much quality it became really difficult for them to win the ball back and I think you could see United were taken by surprise by that.

"It was a very un-Manchester United performance."

CAPTION(S):

TWO GOOD: Messi savours his goal, Barca's second, that seals win