Boss Praises Patience

Sir Alex admitted to harbouring some concerns as United and Blackburn disappeared down the tunnel at half-time on Saturday, but the Reds boss was quietly confident his side would up the ante after the break and seal victory.

“We found it very difficult in the first half and you always get a bit concerned [when your team is missing chances],” he told MUTV.

“But we don’t panic. There’s plenty of time in a football match and, as you know, we can win games in the 93rd minute if we have to. What you need is patience and that’s a strong virtue at this club.”

Indeed, the Reds continued to probe for an opening in the second half and it duly arrived on 55 minutes when Dimitar Berbatov swivelled to volley home from 12 yards. Wayne Rooney sealed the points on 87 minutes.

“In the second half we improved our penetration and started to get very good width into the game,” Sir Alex said. “We were always driving and tried hard to get that goal that would open up a game. I felt it was only a matter of time before we’d score.“

Berbatov scored a fantastic goal and that settled the game for us. Even though it only takes a second to lose a goal I just felt we’d started to create a few chances. We could have scored more, but I thought it was a sound and solid performance. We didn’t lose our momentum, which is important in these games.”

The win leaves United two points behind Chelsea, who beat Bolton Wanderers 4-0 at the Reebok earlier in the day.

“We were disappointed last week after losing to Liverpool,” Sir Alex said, “but at this club you have to win your next game. It’s the only thing you can do [to bounce back].

“We're experienced and we know how difficult it is to win the league and we know teams will make mistakes. Sometimes you lose games you don’t expect to lose.

“You strive for consistency. If we get to January and we’re still in a similar position then we have a great chance.”