Sir Alex Ferguson saluted the spirit and determination of his
side after Michael Carrick’s late winner put United to within one
point of retaining the league title.
The boss had been given plenty to say at half-time by Wigan
taking a shock lead.
“The first thing I told the players at the break was to keep
their discipline,” Sir Alex said.
“You can’t beat the referee, so I told them, ‘Keep your mouth
shut and play the game.’ I think we improved from there.”
“We just had to be patient. We were against a very determined,
tough Wigan side but I thought we were the better team. It was a
real gutsy performance.”
Carrick’s stunning strike and Tevez’s sublime equaliser were
enough to give United a vital triumph but there could have been
more goals, not least from Cristiano Ronaldo – a fact that was
noted but not condemned by his manager.
“Cristiano could probably have scored a hat-trick tonight,”
admitted Sir Alex. “He normally hits the target and makes the
goalkeeper work but it was just one of those nights I suppose, it
happens. He still has an unbelievable scoring rate, particularly
recently.”
United can now secure a third successive title with a home draw
on Saturday. However, Sir Alex only has eyes for maximum
points.
“I think we’ll approach the game we always do, we’ll try and
win. We know we’re up against a very good Arsenal side and we’ll
need to perform. Hopefully we will do.”