Ferguson tells United to hold nerve

Ferguson believes 10-man United’s defiant 0-0 draw against Tottenham proves they have mental strength.

LONDON: Sir Alex Ferguson believes 10-man Manchester United’s defiant 0-0 draw against Tottenham proves they have the mental strength to hold their nerve and win the Premier League title race. Ferguson’s side returned to the top of the table, on goal difference ahead of Manchester City, after extending their unbeaten league run to 21 games despite Rafael da Silva’s second half red card at White Hart Lane.

United had to play the last 16 minutes down to 10 men but the leaders’ back-four, superbly marshalled by Nemanja Vidic, held firm to grind out a hard-fought point.

While United once again lacked any real fluency going forward, Ferguson took heart from the way his players dug in to frustrate one of the most attacking teams in the top-flight. With games in hand, the United boss believes his team is in pole position to regain the title. “All five teams have chances and Tottenham are not out of it,” said Ferguson. “It’s about winning games and keeping your nerve. We’ve got to win those two games in hand.”

Dalglish hopeful

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish insisted his side is showing signs of turning their season around even though they remain just four points above the relegation zone. “I can see the belief coming back into those players,” said Dalglish. “They’ve all got to adapt and it’s a great credit that they’ve adapted to what we’ve asked them to do.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2011.