Premiership: Title still an 'uphill struggle' - Ferguson

Alex Ferguson claimed Manchester United still had an ‘‘uphill fight’’ to claim their fourth Premiership title on the trot despite a 3-2 victory at Fulham having put his side firmly back in contention.

Ryan Giggs’ superb double set up United’s fifth victory on the trot to put them within just three points of leaders Arsenal.

The Welshman opened the scoring inside five minutes before setting up Ruud van Nistelrooy for his 23rd goal of the season.

Sylvain Legwinski gave the Cottagers hope on the stroke of half-time but just after the break Giggs cracked home a superb third to seal the victory, with Steve Marlet’s first for Fulham two minutes from time not proving enough.

And Ferguson said: ‘‘We’ve got an uphill fight, we can’t afford to make a mistake.

‘‘All the teams up at the top have got a fantastic chance and everyone can win it.

‘‘I think there were periods when we did well and there were periods when we were pretty scrappy. The pitch didn’t help, it was a very difficult pitch, parts of it were very firm and that can make it difficult for you.

‘‘I would have been disappointed if we had thrown that away, but at the end of the day it was a good away win.’’

Ferguson praised Giggs’ influence on the match.

He added: ‘‘He has good penetration and he can beat a man and hold the ball for us.’’

Ferguson refused to expand on comments he has made suggesting he may be ready to rethink his decision to retire as manager at the end of the season.

But the Scot did pay tribute to Andy Cole, who signed for Blackburn yesterday, and described him as not the ‘‘easiest substitute’’ to have.

He added: ‘‘It was proving difficult to keep Andy happy on the bench. He gave seven great years’ service to the club. He’s not the easiest substitute to have.’’

Ferguson added that he did not have any plans at the moment to sign a replacement for Cole.

Goalscorer van Nistelrooy added: ‘‘It could have been a lot more. He (Giggs) gave a great pass to my goal and I did the same for him.

‘‘We still depend on others to lose and that’s why we have to keep winning ourselves. We’ve just got to win the next game and see where we are in May.

‘‘For us Newcastle is a massive game but all the games are now.’’

And Fulham defender Rufus Brevett said: ‘‘We hit the bar a couple of times and at this level you’ve got to put them away.

‘‘It’s always nice to score just before half-time but they got one just after the break.

‘‘We had chances; they put theirs away and that’s Manchester United for you.’’