Tense Fergie keeping own counsel

IT MIGHT have been the sight of Arsenal disappearing over the Premiership horizon, it might have been the defensive crisis created by Mikael Silvestre’s three-week absence with an ankle injury or it might have been the on-set of the Champions League.

Heaven forbid, it might even have been his racing row with John Magnier.

Whatever it was, Alex Ferguson is in a very strange mood ahead of tonight’s encounter with unbeaten Portuguese league leaders Porto.

Terse, obstructive yet at the same time completely relaxed, if the fiery Scot projects the same message to his players as he has done to the press, they will not risk annoying him in the plush Estadio do Dragao.

Ferguson was strangely non-committal on almost every subject under discussion. His defence, Louis Saha, even the milestone of becoming the first man to manage a team in 100 Champions League games.

He straight-batted the lot, politely rebuking one scribe for ‘picking his team’ after suggesting Saha would start and asking another to ‘rephrase the question’ when he asked a nonplussed Ruud van Nistelrooy if the current United side were capable of going on the kind of lengthy unbeaten run that brought them last season’s league title.

Only when asked about Porto’s likely tactics did Ferguson offer any kind of positive opinion.

“They will attack,” he said. “Eventually.”

On closer examination, the air of mystery probably suits Ferguson, who has plenty of central defensive options, none of which are completely without a worry or two.

If form was not a factor, John O’Shea and Wes Brown would be an automatic partnership.

Unfortunately, Brown is still short of full match fitness after his second cruciate knee ligament operation, while O’Shea is suffering a classic case of second-season syndrome.

If Ferguson decides he cannot take a chance on one, or both, of the obvious choices, he knows Roy Keane and Gary Neville are capable of filling in.

Throw in Quinton Fortune’s abysmal display against Leeds and Ferguson is presented with a conundrum that will not easily be solved.

His offensive selection should be rather more straight-forward, with Saha almost certain to be handed a Champions League debut in a bank of three behind Ruud van Nistelrooy that will also include Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

And, while Ferguson preferred to reign back from offering a fulsome appraisal of Saha’s talents, van Nistelrooy was more forthcoming.

“If Louis adapts to the Champions League the same as he has done with us in the Premiership, it will be fantastic because he hasn’t had any problems at all,” said van Nistelrooy, who needs one goal to break the club record for European goals he currently shares with fellow 28-goal man Denis Law.

“The way the two of us have linked together is great. When a new striker comes in, it is important to get a good feeling about your partnership and that is definitely there.”

The difficulty of United’s task is evident in Porto’s enviable home record that has seen them record 16 wins from 17 games in all competitions this season.

Only the mighty Real Madrid have emerged from the coastal town with a victory and Ferguson was not talking up his team’s chances of recording an outright win themselves.

“It is important that we try to score,” he said.

Porto coach Jose Mourinho says he’ll be happy to keep his side alive for the second leg.

“It’s a round in which a 0-0 draw at home won’t be a bad result as we can try to surprise them away from here,” he said.

“I think the game at Old Trafford will be vital and we will try to go there with the round still open.”

There may be a hint of kidology involved in the highly-rated Mourinho’s thinking, with his own side unbeaten in 23 games this season in their domestic SuperLiga, winning 18 of those in the defence of their title.

Mourinho does have problems in attack to contend with as Brazilian star Derlei is a long-term injury victim and fellow frontman Cesar Peixoto is also out.

“How can I think of beating Manchester United if I don’t have the offensive weapons in my hands?” added Mourinho.

“Derlei and Cesar Peixoto are injured and Maciel and Sergio Conceicao can’t play because both have already played for their former teams in UEFA competition this season and are cup-tied.

“I think we must be realistic about the game. They [United] have more players who pass the ball around and we are limited for that game. I can’t even do like last season in the UEFA Cup, trying to kill the round at home in the first game, because I don’t have forwards for that.

“We can’t forget that Costinha is also suspended and won’t play the first game either.”