Boss Bemoans Bad Calls

Sir Alex Ferguson found fault with his players’ decision making on Wednesday night after a bad day at the office allowed Burnley to inflict a shock defeat on the champions.

The Reds were at times too rash, at other times too hesitant, when opportunities to cancel out Robbie Blake’s stunning goal for Burnley presented themselves.

“We were too frivolous with the chances we had,” Sir Alex told MUTV.

“Sometimes we were taking touches on the ball instead of shooting quickly. And in the last twenty minutes, we rushed and made one or two bad decisions.”

The boss believes the night might have been different had Michael Carrick converted his penalty on the brink of half-time - “I think we’d have won the game. I think we’d have composed ourselves and taken our time in the second half."

Sir Alex denied United's return of one goal from two games is a concern, taking heart from the number of chances created - "Hopefully we get as many on Saturday. Michael Carrick had what I thought was the best chance when the ball was squared to him in the box but he decided to take a touch on the ball and lost the opportunity. Michael Owen missed a great chance in the first half, Ryan Giggs had one in the second half and Wayne Rooney had a couple of chances."

While lamenting a “bad performance” by his own team, Sir Alex praised Burnley and their supporters.

“You can’t deny them their victory. Every member of their team worked their socks off and the fans were fantastic, they got behind them all night, cheering every kick of the ball. To play Manchester United on their return to the top division after a long time, it was a great occasion for them.

“Burnley had a good ten-minute spell which won it for them. They caused us a lot of problems with their balls in behind our back four, turning us towards our own goal.

“(The goal) was a very good strike, a marvellous hit, but we didn’t defend it well. The player should have been covered but one or two of our midfield players were running out when the ball was played across.

“Our players are all disappointed, it was a bad result for us. But I’m sure we’ll get a response (on Saturday, at Wigan).”