Ferguson fears Pedersen threat

Alex Ferguson is fearing more punishment from a man he once thought about signing at Old Trafford tonight.

Morten Gamst Pedersen has already scored two goals in a Blackburn Barclays Premiership win at United’s ground this season and he netted another in the first leg of Rovers’ Carling Cup semi-final against them a fortnight ago.

Now the Norwegian is setting his sights on a memorable hat-trick by sending Blackburn to the Millennium Stadium on February 26 at the expense of an injury-ravaged United outfit.

And if Pedersen succeeds in his aim, the irony will not be lost on Ferguson, who had positive reports about the 24-year-old when he had him watched a couple of years ago but ultimately opted to look elsewhere.

“Pedersen seems to be making his reputation against us,” admitted Ferguson.

“We saw him play and had some good reports on him. We just didn’t think he was what we wanted at the time because we had just signed Cristiano Ronaldo, we already had Ryan Giggs and Kieran Richardson was coming through as well.

“It happens. A lot of times you see players who take your eye but you are maybe overloaded in that particular position. You don’t do anything about it.”

After watching his side fail to beat Blackburn in any of their last five meetings, Ferguson will name his strongest possible side as United look to avoid a repeat of last season’s exit to Chelsea at the same stage.

Not that his starting line-up will be too familiar given the likely absence of five midfielders.

Ferguson already knew he would be without Ronaldo and Park Ji-sung through suspension and injury respectively and admitted at the weekend Alan Smith was unlikely to make it either after missing the win over Liverpool with an ankle injury.

But the stunning double loss of Paul Scholes for the season with an eye complaint and John O’Shea for up to six weeks with fractured ribs has left a gaping hole in the Red Devils midfield.

It leaves Ferguson having to continue the experiment of using Ryan Giggs in the United engine room as well as either dropping Wayne Rooney back or pushing Rio Ferdinand forward if, as expected, he decides Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not yet sharp enough to start a game of such importance.

Despite the protestations of chief executive David Gill that United’s spending during the transfer window is over, Ferguson must surely now bring in reinforcements, even if only on loan.

The loss of Scholes will be particularly keenly felt.

A key member of the United squad for a decade, Scholes’ genius has been sorely missed over the last month since he first started suffering blurred vision in the wake of a Premiership draw at Birmingham.

At the time, Ferguson was told the problem would cure itself within a fortnight, hence his extreme irritation at reports the 31-year-old former England man was suffering from partial blindness and a cyst.

But last Friday, the Red Devils chief was forced to admit Scholes was being sent for a second opinion. And, although the former England man seemed happy enough at Old Trafford on Sunday as he watched United’s 1-0 win alongside his son, the results of the tests were sufficiently serious to warrant an extended rest period.

“Paul Scholes has a medical condition affecting the vision in his right eye,” said a United statement.

“It is not a football related injury. This has been confirmed by a number of specialists who have all agreed that he needs to rest for a period of three months.

“Obviously, it is a disappointment for Paul and Manchester United that he will miss the rest of the season.”