Sir Alex Sees The Positives

Sir Alex Ferguson was disappointed United hadn't secured a win by the time Clint Dempsey struck Tottenham's late equaliser, but the boss is taking the positives from a point gained in one of the season's hardest away games.

The Reds remain five points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League table and a draw away at Spurs is far from disastrous. It was just the manner of it that was difficult to take.

“We had the opportunity to kill them off on the counter attack but our final ball let us down,” the boss told MUTV. “We worked really hard, as did Tottenham. It was a really difficult, gruelling game but we dealt with everything they did.

"They kept pumping that ball in the box and we kept heading it out. Unfortunately we didn’t get that last one that really mattered, the last kick of the game. It’s not an easy place to come to. They are a very aggressive, committed team. There was a good quality to the match in terms of the commitment of both sets of players. It was a difficult game but unfortunately we didn’t hold on for that extra minute.”

Robin van Persie’s first-half header was his 22nd goal of the season and Sir Alex was as pleased with the approach play as he was with yet another strike from his in-form front man. “It was a good build up from Danny to Tom," the boss said, "and Robin did what he has been doing all season and got another goal for us.”

The Dutchman's strike looked for so long like it would settle the match, then Dempsey struck in injury time. “I thought we looked quite comfortable in that last part of the game,” Sir Alex added. “I actually thought Rafael was fouled in the build-up. It was a clear foul and we didn’t get it. But I didn’t think we were going to get a decision from the linesman, that’s for sure.”

An earlier foul on Wayne Rooney inside the penalty area went undetected, of which Sir Alex opined: “It was a clear penalty and he was definitely brought down. He put his leg in and the linesman was right there facing it. I thought the linesman had a very poor game. I thought he was disappointing.”

Those frustrations aside, Sir Alex remains content with a five-point cushion at the Barclays Premier League’s summit with arguably the hardest away trips on the fixture list now all completed.

“We’ve been to all the top teams’ grounds now, we’ve just got Arsenal left,” added the manager. “I think we can be pleased with the outcome and the points total in all of them. It’s another game out of the road and I wanted the game to be on today [after a pitch inspection] because we don’t want a backlog of matches.”