Friendlies 'waste of time' says Ferguson

(CNN) -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson claims international friendly matches are a "waste of time" after losing midfielder Darren Fletcher for six weeks with a knee ligament injury picked up in Scotland's 1-1 draw with Croatia.

"It is a bad blow losing Darren and again shows the futility of playing friendly games. It is crazy," he told the Press Association.

"Supporters will stop going anyway, given the kind of money they are paying and the kind of traveling they have to do.

"Every manager knows deep down these games are a waste of time," added Ferguson who was angry with new Scotland manager George Burley for allowing Fletcher to play nearly all the game until his injury setback.

"Darren should have played only 45 minutes, 60 minutes at most. But instead he was heading for a full game before he got injured," said the United manager.

"He had gone up to Scotland with a bad chest cold, which caused him to miss our last game (the 3-0 victory against Liverpool on Sunday)."

Ferguson is unsure about the alternative to friendlies but said he had suggested the idea of training camps to former England coach Terry Venables.

However Ferguson was "delighted" to see Rio Ferdinand captain England against France in Paris.

"Fabio (Capello) is looking to experiment with other players but Rio is first on the oche.

"That will give him a head start and he represented his country well, despite the result." E-mail to a friend