Brown glad to be Moscow bound

Worthy winner
The sides were virtually inseparable over 180 minutes of absorbing football that featured only one goal – Paul Scholes's powerful swerving long-distance effort 14 minutes into the second leg. It was an effort worthy of settling a meeting between two of Europe's most famous clubs and one that left Brown in raptures. "It's brilliant," he said. "We knew it was going to be difficult [against] such great players. Over there we did play a bit more defensively but tonight we showed we can play just as good football as them. We got the goal. Obviously they threw a lot of pressure at us but we handled it. Over the two legs we've done brilliantly and we deserve to go through."

'We're buzzing'
Brown and Scholes both sat out United's triumph against FC Bayern München in the 1999 final at Camp Nou – the former an unused substitute and the latter suspended – and the defender, who deputised for the injured Nemanja Vidić in both legs against Barcelona, is relishing the opportunity to claim a winners' medal in his own right. "All the lads are buzzing – we're delighted to be back in the final, it's something we've been trying to do for nine years now," said Brown, who was quick to point to the contribution of the Old Trafford crowd as a major factor in United's win. "The fans were fantastic, they got us going and we never looked back."

'Great performance'
A 2-1 Premier League defeat at Chelsea FC on Saturday had taken United's run without a win to three matches in all competitions, but having overcome Barcelona, Brown is confident they can go on and secure the two victories that will secure the club's 17th league title overall. "At the beginning of the season if anyone would have told us that we'd be in the Champions League final and need to win our last two games to win the title we would have been delighted and we're all happy that we got [to the final] after a great performance. Now we'll do our best in Moscow."

Victory the springboard
Before that United complete their league programme at home to West Ham United FC on Saturday and away at Wigan Athletic FC knowing six points will effectively guarantee their tenth championship under Sir Alex Ferguson. "This result is really going to help," Brown admitted. "We can celebrate and be happy but we know we're got two big Premier League games and we've got to look forward to them. If we can play as well as we did tonight we've got a great chance." Having recently extended his expiring United contract for four more seasons Brown is looking forward to the future with optimism, adding: "I've always been here and I'm happy that I've signed. It could be a great ending to the season." When asked if he ever wanted to leave, his reply was simply: "Never". He will be hoping for another reminder of why he pledged his future to the club in Russia on 21 May.