Retire? Not while Fergie has a Nani to look after him

AROUND 15 minutes before kick-off on a glorious spring day in Manchester, there was a presentation on the pitch.

Players wearing sharp suits and club ties lined up on the touchline, each warmly applauded by another sell-out Old Trafford gallery as they stepped forward one-by-one to collect their medals.

They then gathered behind a huge board that read ‘Champions’ so photographers could capture the team that secured the latest piece of silverware to add to United’s expanding trophy cabinet.

United’s 1999 treble winner Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s beamed like a proud father as his Premier Reserve League North champions savoured the moment before kicking back to watch the first team keep up the pressure on Chelsea.

With rumours of Alex Ferguson’s retirement firmly squashed, his team still require a favour from their stuttering bitter rivals Liverpool, Chelsea’s next opponents.

Yet none of the 73,000 United supporters inside Old Trafford two days ago will bet against a similar presentation taking place at the same venue on Sunday week following the last game of the season with Stoke.

An unprecedented fourth successive title, and 12th in 18 seasons, is still within sight after overcoming Spurs with in a performance that was gutsy in more ways than one.

Twice in the second half referee Andre Marriner was forced to stop the game as first Patrice Evra and then Nani, United’s best two players on the day, were both violently sick on the Old Trafford turf.

In the absence of Wayne Rooney, possibly missing for United’s final two games with a groin injury, Evra epitomised the spirit that dragged Ferguson’s side to a priceless three points after a dreadful first half void of any entertainment.

Nani was in similar strife to Evra before the final whistle, but he also summoned up the strength to make a pivotal contribution as United secured the win they needed to play on any frayed Chelsea nerves.

His exquisite finish, after Ryan Giggs had opened the scoring from the penalty spot following Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s foul on Evra, could yet prove a pivotal moment in the title race after Ledley King had threatened to give Chelsea a boost.

Nani’s growing maturity was in evidence when he took a pass from Federico Macheda, a bold introduction by Ferguson in place of defender Rafael, nine minutes from the end and timed the delivery of his finish perfectly to loft the ball over the onrushing Heurelho Gomes in front of an elated Stretford End.

It was a magical moment and was celebrated wildly by all of United’s players including Rooney, watching from an executive box with his six-month-old son Kai.

The Portuguese winger was then fouled by Wilson Palacios for Giggs to conclude proceedings from the spot. And as a stone-faced Ferguson strode off at the final whistle, pausing for a brief punch of the fists, the message from Old Trafford was clear.

Make no mistake, United will track Chelsea all the way to the final day of the season, accompanied by the rich irony that any sort of result for Liverpool against Carlo Ancelotti’s side could actually send the title to Old Trafford for a record 19th time.

“All we have got to do is look after our results,” said Giggs after claiming a personal first by scoring his first Premier League penalty in the 18th season of a competition he has graced every year.

“We have got two games left against Sunderland and Stoke. If we win them then we have got a great chance but obviously we need a favour off someone else.”

There is no doubt that the absence of leading scorer Rooney from those two games will be a setback, but there are positives.

He might not have scored for the sixth successive game but Dimitar Berbatov showed against his former club many more of the qualities that made him the club’s record buy at £30.75m from Tottenham.

In what was a passionate display, Berbatov worked tirelessly and his instinctive touch led directly to Evra winning Giggs’ first penalty.

And then there was the sight of Owen Hargreaves warming up on the touchline. Hargreaves did not make it on the pitch, but surely his first senior appearance for 19 months is only days away after putting his injury problems behind him.

For Spurs, this represented a huge disappointment, a squandered opportunity to take advantage of a United side stripped of Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.

Harry Redknapp’s team have beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool on their own turf this season yet away from home they have lost at Sunderland and Wolves.

Should his side miss out qualifying for the Champions League, Redknapp will know that his side’s failure to win away at Bolton, Fulham and Birmingham were also missed opportunities.

“With no Rooney or Ferdinand, I felt it was a real opportunity for us,” he said. “It would have been a massive point if we’d hung on.”

MATCH RATING: *** – The first half was dire stuff as United looked anything but potential champions. Giggs’s first penalty brought the game to life while Nani’s exquisite finish was delightful to the eye.

REFEREE: Andre Marriner (West Midlands) 6 – Allowed the game to flow on his first visit to Old Trafford for 14 months and only brandished one yellow card in Nani’s direction. Harry Redknapp’s refusal to have a go at the official afterwards proved Marriner was correct to award both penalties.