Look On The Bright Side

Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t hide his frustration at yet more Barclays Premier League points lost on the road, but he will still draw positives from United’s 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers.

It was a missed opportunity after Chelsea and Arsenal’s defeats to Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, and United’s inability to take three points away from home is becoming a concern. But Sir Alex isn’t pushing the panic button yet.

“I thought that in the first half we should have done better,” he said after the game. “We had a lot of chances and played some really good football. We also did well to come from behind.

“The second half was very even. Bolton are a real handful and made some good chances themselves. Our chances were reduced in the second half, even though we had plenty of possession of the ball.

"But we must take credit coming back again. Being behind twice away from home is not easy to come back from. It shows character.

“A lot of teams coming here will find it difficult. Bolton are a handful in terms of the aerial ability they have. Their direct play is very good. I thought it was a fair result and a really good match, particularly in the second half.”

United’s somewhat erratic results so far this season show signs of the Premier League’s pitfalls. But Sir Alex says his side’s resilience – no doubt added to players coming back into form and with some winning momentum – will stand the Reds in good stead, especially as United are now second and just three points behind leaders Chelsea.

“Teams drop points when you don’t expect it,” he said. “That’s what the Premier League is like. Away from home we’ve scored seven goals and we’ve only taken three points.

"It gives you a measure of the quality in the league. The plus points for us are that we kept coming back. That will help us.”