Fighting talk from Ferguson

DEFIANT Alex Ferguson shrugged off talk of Manchester United as a club in crisis and instead declared the humiliating defeat at Middlesbrough will be the making of his young team.

Ferguson stepped off the plane ahead of United’s first competitive trip to Paris having already declared the topic of Roy Keane’s scrapped MUTV interview off limits in typically forceful fashion before departure.

A few other major subjects of discussion quickly joined the list of items to be avoided as Ferguson looked ahead to tonight’s Champions League encounter with Lille - the matter of Rio Ferdinand’s poor form and suggestions he is presiding over a club in disarray.