United, Pompey keep on eye on shaky Blues

HARRY REDKNAPP and Alex Ferguson took equal satisfaction from Chelsea’s stunning defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The result allowed second-placed Manchester United, resounding winners at Portsmouth, to dream of a Chelsea slump.

But it also encouraged Redknapp to speculate on his side's chances of inflicting a further dent in the Barclays Premiership champions' armoury in a fortnight's time at Stamford Bridge.

Redknapp's Portsmouth are eight points from safety with just 12 games remaining and can scarcely afford to lose to Jose Mourinho's Blues.

"Did you expect Middlesbrough to beat Chelsea 3-0? Maybe we can do something against them as well," said Redknapp.

"You have to go into every match thinking you will win it and that's what we are going to do. I still think we have a big chance.

"We need goals or someone to score them. But if anybody can it could bring us back-to-back wins and take us on a run. Six points will make all the difference and we know it can spark us off.

"Two seasons ago, our first in the Premiership, we had just 21 points from 28 games but then we beat Southampton and Blackburn back-to-back and finished up 13th after looking dead and buried.

"Yakubu scored 19 goals that year for us but after I left they sold him and now we need somebody to do what he did."

Only twice have Pompey notched more than one goal in a game this season at Sunderland and in a Carling Cup defeat at Gillingham.

There was no way back after conceding three first-half goals to United, whose finishing was breathtaking.

Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice for a second consecutive match the first a magnificent 25-yard strike after Ruud van Nistelrooy had headed home early on following a dazzling run by Ryan Giggs, whose shot struck the bar.

Portsmouth's hopes of registering a third consecutive home win over United had crumbled long before Matt Taylor headed in substitute Wayne Routledge's cross three minutes from time.

United, despite having to substitute goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and winger Giggs with injuries at half-time, had a distinct edge in sophistication and technique throughout.

Ferguson's team closed the gap on Chelsea to 15 points United also have a game in hand but the manager is realistic enough to know only a major crisis for Mourinho's men could change the picture.

"Chelsea will have to collapse but we will still see how high we can go by playing like we did in the first half," said Ferguson.

"We had a job to do. Our record at Portsmouth was bad for two years and we hadn't scored here, but Ryan Giggs made a great run for the first and Ronaldo's first goal was incredible.

"The boy has great finishing power and should be capable of getting 15 to 20 for us in a season. He has great feet and has done well despite some problems.

"Portsmouth came back at us in the second half when we got a bit careless and (Lomana) LuaLua caused us a few problems but if we focus on our own game we can keep the race going."

Redknapp added: "It will probably still take a miracle for United to catch Chelsea but what can you do apart from try to keep going?

"Some people are saying we got out of trouble two seasons ago because we had better players but that's not for me to say. I've got faith in the ones here now but there are a lot of new ones and I've had to ask them all to hit the ground running."