Fergie says lack of concentration to blame for second successive defeat

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Alex Ferguson blamed his own side for slumping to a second successive Premiership defeat at the hands of Middlesborough.

“Well, 3-1 is a bad scoreline considering the possession we had and I think in the first-half, we’ve really thrown it away, the amount of possession we had and theopportunities at the edge of their box,” Ferguson said.

“We just didn’t have the concentration to capitalise.

“They’ve got a breakaway in the last minute of the half and then right immediately after half-time, we lost another goal, and it made it an uphill fight.

“We got one back and threw everything to the wind, but when you do that, there’s always a danger you might lose a third one, which we did.”

Ferguson, who handed skipper Roy Keane a first start since August 31, introduced David Beckham and Ferdinand as late substitutes in a bid to find an equaliser, but was made to pay for his bold move.

“When you’re trying to claw something back from a game, it’s always worth trying,” he said. “We’ve done that many times in the past.

“Steve Bruce has ended up there, Gary Pallister. Over the years, we’ve done that many times. Laurent Blanc did it last season and I think it’s always worth a risk to get a point.”

Ferguson’s former number two Steve McClaren was understandably delighted after clinching his third win in five attempts since leaving Old Trafford, although he insisted he has no Indian sign over his old club.

“I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “We’re just concentrating on what we’re doing and I’m pleased today for the players because of the performance and the belief now. Where can we go once we sort out our away form? Who knows!

“What a performance. The players were magnificent. I couldn’t fault them. There have been many great performances, especially this season, but that was very, very good.

“We’ve played these teams at home before and we’ve had a slice of luck, but today, the performance justified the result, although we came under pressure towards the end, which you’re bound to.

United’s defeat, coupled with leaders Arsenal’s victory at West Brom, created a gap of seven points between last season’s top two, but McClaren believes there are plenty of twists and turns to come before the title race reaches its conclusion.

“This league is strange, everybody is beating everybody else,” he said.