London, Aug 15 (IANS) In his search for a 19th Premier League trophy, Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson has rubbished speculation that his side may again struggle to finish among the top spots this season.
Last year Manchester United United were hit badly by defensive injuries and also had limited attacking options upfront after Wayne Rooney suffered an ankle problem against Bayern Munich in March. All these reasons saw Manchester United finish a point adrift of Chelsea in the Premier League.
This year Ferguson has only recruited youngsters Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and Bebe.
On the eve of the team’s Premier League opener against newly-promoted Newcastle at Old Trafford, Ferguson said: ‘We can take encouragement from the fact that with the injuries we had to defenders last year, if we’d had them all fit we could have won the League I think.’
‘I’m quite content and I’m not going to get my knickers in a twist about what’s happened in pre-season, with press speculation and all the rest of it. They’ve never been right on anything.
‘Quite a few have not got us in the top four this year. Because we’ve been so successful for so many years, there’s a bit of hope that if we don’t get in the top four they’ve got something to write about.
‘United not to be in the top four? You have to worry about what upbringing they had or what kind of porridge they’ve had,’ Ferguson was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
Ferguson feels that despite a troublesome summer with England, Rooney’s desire to play for his country will not dim. Rooney was again booed by the fans during the friendly against Mexico.
‘He’s okay. No-one likes getting booed it’s a fact of life. Maybe he didn’t deserve it nor did he expect it. From what I hear he didn’t play badly.
‘But it won’t affect him or his desire to want to play for England, not a chance. I heard someone say on the radio that his wave to the fans was like a valedictory. That’s nonsense, maybe he was just disappointed that people booed,’ he said.
