Fergie loving it as United rediscover ruthless edge
Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his Premier League rivals that
Manchester United have rediscovered their ruthless streak after
Tuesday's 5-0 hammering of West Brom took the champions three points
clear of closest rivals Liverpool.
Goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez, Nemanja Vidic and two from
Cristiano Ronaldo completed an emphatic rout of bottom club West Brom,
whose flickering hopes were snuffed out with the 40th minute dismissal
of captain Paul Robinson for a late challenge on South Korean midfielder
Park Ji-Sung.
But with United now clear of the pack and with goalkeeper Edwin van
der Sar breaking his Chelsea counterpart Petr Cech's shut-out record by
taking his run without conceding a goal to 1,032 minutes, Ferguson
insisted that his team are now back to their destructive best. He said:
"We have shown a real ruthless streak tonight which has maybe not been
there this season.
"We always expected it to come simply because of the forwards we
have, but tonight was the first indication that it is there. Hopefully
we will start to motor now. We have good form, which is important, but
March and April are the key months.
"Even Cristiano scored in the league again and I actually said to
him, 'Oh, you're scoring again. That's very good of you!' But he is
delighted to have got himself back on the scoresheet."
United's recent surge up the table, on the back of eleven successive
clean sheets and seven league wins on the bounce, has been largely down
to their defensive record.
And Ferguson paid tribute to Dutch keeper Van der Sar, who can break
the all-time Football League record, currently held by former Reading
goalkeeper Steve De'Ath, if he surpasses the 1,103 minute record set by
De'Ath in 1978-79, when United face Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Ferguson said: "Edwin has achieved everything in the game, but he is
as delighted in the dressing room as he was after his penalty save
against Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow last season.
"Despite his achievements and experience, he still has that
competitive streak and it shows with his record."
Ferguson insisted that Robinson was 'careless and reckless' with the
challenge that resulted in his dismissal and West Brom manager Tony
Mowbray refused to criticise referee Rob Styles for his decision to send
his player off five minutes before half-time following his challenge on
Park. It appeared a debatable decision and Albion could yet appeal, but
Mowbray insisted it would be futile to criticise the referee.
BIRMINGHAM, AFP |