Sir Alex Ferguson praised his players' resilience after they
recovered from an early injury blow to complete a convincing double
over Bolton Wanderers.
The United manager was particularly pleased with the margin of
victory, given it's the stage of the season when title-chasers
often grind out narrow victories with more graft than craft.
"It's a terrific result for us against a Bolton team who, as
everyone knows, are very good, making you work all day," enthused
Sir Alex in his post-match interview.
"But the most pleasing aspect was to score four goals at home at
this time of year. That was great."
Chelsea had reduced United's lead to six points in midweek by
winning their game in hand. But from Tomasz Kuszczak in goal to
Wayne Rooney in attack, the players showed no visible signs of
pressure as they set about their task against the Trotters.
"I think that emphasises the confidence the players in have
themselves and each other," said the United manager.
"Even when Gary Neville got his injury, and there was a hush in the
crowd, the players were undeterred. The performances of Ferdinand
and Vidic laid the foundation for us and enabled Wes Brown to
settle in. He ended up having a marvellous game himself.
"Initially people thought, 'not another injury', but the resilience
of this team means they're not going to be put back at all."
When asked if Cristiano Ronaldo's fantastic first-half performance,
in which he set up all three United goals, was his best of the
season, Sir Alex said:
"You can't put one game in front of the other as far as I'm
concerned because he's given his all in every game. His season has
just been incredible.
"I thought the second goal was really tremendous - the combination
between him and Wayne Rooney, in particular his weighted pass for
Wayne to finish the job."
Ronaldo's performance will only fuel the rumours that clubs
coveting his signature will break the bank to land him. But it will
also strengthen United's resolve to keep him, not that extra
motivation was needed.
"There's going to be speculation," Sir Alex accepted. "The
elections in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona mean they do this
all the time. It's unfortunate that there's been some stuff coming
from Ronaldo's agent today. I just hope his agent allows us to go
on with the negotiations. He too should be part of that."
United's win over Bolton, and their huge goal difference, means the
Reds need six victories from the last eight matches to be confirmed
as Premiership champions for the ninth time.
"We're just looking at the next game, Blackburn at home," Sir Alex
insisted. "I'll have Paul Scholes, Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer available for that match. It gives us more experienced
players coming back, important players. Hopefully we can do
it."