Fergie backs Brown to lift United's spirits

ALEX FERGUSON has admitted Manchester United's confidence has taken a battering over the past month but is backing Wes Brown to lead the club out of their defensive crisis.

Brown returned to the Red Devils' line-up in Porto on Wednesday after being taken out of the firing line for a couple of games following some stuttering performances on his return from his second cruciate knee ligament operation.

That injury, suffered at Everton on the final day of last season, was the latest setback in the career of a man Ferguson regards as one of the unluckiest in the modern game.