United thank lucky stars

IT WAS Gary Player who declared 'the more I practise the luckier I get' so Alex Ferguson must have been working off his frustrations at Manchester United's Carrington training ground last week.

Even match-winner Ruud van Nistelrooy was forced to accept Southampton deserved far more than their 14th defeat in 15 league visits to Old Trafford after a frenzied encounter in which the home side's defensive frailties were badly exposed.

A week remarkable even by United's standards of headline-making started with the arrival of £12.8m Louis Saha, has seen both Ferguson and Van Nistelrooy sign new contracts, the United board launch an internal investigation into their transfer policy, their manager come under renewed attack from major shareholders and then respond with incomprehension at impropriety during his 17 years in charge.