Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday warned that Tottenham
Hotspur, buoyed by their comprehensive midweek victory over Arsenal
and led by the attacking talents of Dimitar Berbatov, pose a
serious threat to Manchester United's hopes.
The United manager restated his belief that his squad are better
equipped than at any previous stage to maintain a challenge on
three fronts but they must first overcome a reinvigorated Spurs
side who will arrive for tomorrow's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Old
Trafford having scored 73 goals in all competitions, more than any
of their top-flight rivals.
An admirer of Berbatov, Ferguson is well aware of the threat posed
by the Bulgarian, who is expected to be a principal transfer target
for United next summer, and accepts that the partnership between
Berbatov and Robbie Keane, together with Spurs' overall improvement
under Juande Ramos, offers the visitors hope of a first win at Old
Trafford in 19 years.
"Berbatov to me, without doubt, has been fantastic since he arrived
from Bayer Leverkusen," said Ferguson. "He is a good player. He is
a big strong lad, too. People don't realise how strong he is. He is
well balanced and hard to shake off the ball. And Robbie Keane
scored his 100th goal last Saturday and that is a terrific record
considering that Spurs have not really been that successful over
the last few years. They also have [Jermain] Defoe, so they have
quite a potent force."
One of Ramos's most notable achievements has been to improve Spurs'
fitness and the Spaniard even said this week that his side's
stamina would overwhelm United. Ferguson, though, offered some
counter-evidence. "Against Reading we had our best stats in terms
of distance run for each player," said the manager, who insisted
the midweek trip to the Middle East had not drained his
players.
