Ole: no time to dwell on derby day debacle

OLE Gunnar Solskjaer admits Manchester United’s performance in their derby defeat at City was not good enough - but the Norwegian does not believe there is any point dwelling on it.

The inquest into what went wrong on Saturday has been extensive, and explosive if reports of a training ground bust-up between Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo are accurate.

Although he could only watch the Eastlands debacle unfold from the stands, Solskjaer has been involved in similar setbacks during his near decade-long stint at Old Trafford - and he knows redemption can be almost immediate.

An FA Cup victory over non-league Burton tonight can go some way to easing the strain, although it would probably take a Premiership triumph over old rivals Liverpool on Sunday and cementing a place in the Carling Cup final at Blackburn’s expense next week for the hand-wringing to cease.

Experience tells Solskjaer it can be done, which is why the 32-year-old cannot see the point in over-analysing a defeat. “Everyone knows it wasn’t good enough,” he said.

“All the players and the staff know what went wrong and what we have to do to put it right.

“It was a disappointing day, because we went into the match in good form and we expected to get more out of the match than we did.

“But there is no point dwelling on what went wrong. We have to look at the next game.

“There is always something else coming up - that means an FA Cup tie, Liverpool and then Blackburn. These are all massive games.”

Ronaldo will miss all three after his sending off. Wayne Rooney is also suspended from tonight’s encounter - and with Park Ji-sung and Paul Scholes also out through injury, Ferguson does not have a huge amount of attacking options at his disposal.

With Louis Saha and Giuseppe Rossi set to start up front, it could mean another outing on the right side of midfield for Solskjaer who captained United from that position in the goalless meeting with Burton at the Pirelli Stadium 10 days ago.

Nigel Clough’s side would need to record the biggest shock in FA Cup history to book a fourth-round trip to Wolves, although that has not stopped more than 10,000 supporters booking a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Old Trafford.

The massive away following will help swell the overall crowd to more than 50,000, ensuring another healthy pay-day for the Brewers.

After Exeter’s exploits last term, it is the second year in succession Conference sides have benefited from United’s inability to beat them at the first attempt - a fact not lost on Ferguson, who is determined Burton’s fairytale will come to an abrupt and clinical end. “It is great for them,” he said. “We are great at giving these small clubs a lifeline. I don’t know how much they will make out of it - maybe £700,000, the same as Exeter.

“But it is beyond a fairytale for us; it is a matter of winning the match - and that is what we will be aiming to do, no question about that.”