United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with the win at
St. Andrews but quick to praise Steve Bruce's Birmingham
City.
"I think we're getting towards top gear," the boss told Setanta
Sports. "You could see signs of that today. Some of the movement up
front was very good. Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez are big threats for
all our opponents, and the forward line is looking much better
now.
"I actually thought Birmingham were by far the better team in the
first half, although we did carve out some good chances for
ourselves. They played very well and you have to give them full
credit. I would say it was the hardest game of the season so
far."
Sir Alex later told MUTV he was relieved to keep Birmingham at bay
in the early stages and said Bruce's Blues had unsettled his
players with their physical attributes.
"They were very aggressive, very quick about the pitch," he said.
"They were a real handful for us. Even at 1-0 we were just praying
to get through the match. Late on, they kept pumping balls into the
box but we coped with that well. They're a big side, very athletic,
and we had to be on our toes in the second half. It's a good result
for us, a very good result.
"We only scored once but we were away from home and you have to
give Birmingham credit. Ronaldo's goal might have come from a
mistake by one of their players but his composure in beating the
mean, beating the goalkeeper and then putting it into the net was
excellent. He was sensational today. The boy is so good it's
frightening. His capabilities are unending."