UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Manchester United wary of Roy Hodgson's inspired Fulham

Record ID: 335988

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Manchester United wary of Roy Hodgson's inspired Fulham
  • Date: 13th March 2010
  • Summary: MANCHESTER, UK (FILE) (REUTERS) MANCHESTER UNITED'S RYAN GIGGS AT TRAINING
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAUF138P16EBMTTEPXIJALA9YC
  • Story Text: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson heaps praise on his Fulham counterpart Roy Hodgson ahead of their showdown at Old Trafford.
    Manchester United, buoyed by their destruction of AC Milan at Europe's top table, return to the bread and butter of the Premier League when they face Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday (March 14).
    The 7-2 aggregate victory over the seven-times European champions kept United on course for a third successive Champions League final but manager Alex Ferguson is equally excited about the possibility of becoming the first club to win the English title four years in a row.
    Ferguson was delighted with the way his players rolled up their sleeves to eke out a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out and they will have to do the same against Fulham who thrashed United 3-0 at Craven Cottage in December.
    Ferguson said he had huge respect for Fulham and what manager Roy Hodgson has achieved at the club, who lost 3-1 at Juventus in the first leg of a Europa Cup tie on Thursday.
    "It's a remarkable story," Ferguson told reporters on Friday (March 12).
    "And I don't think they're out of the European league. I think that away goal will mean something at Craven Cottage because everyone knows that going to Craven Cottage is very difficult.
    "They only need to score one goal to make it a very interesting night for themselves and I think they can still do it.
    "Two years ago, when Roy went there, they were third bottom of the league and you see where they are now; they are playing European football."
    Ferguson added that Hodgson's influence was huge in Fulham's rise to Europe.
    "He's brought his experience and authority to the club, they play with great discipline and that's down to the manager," Ferguson said.
    "He's formed a team that no one wants to play against anymore, they are very well organised, a good possession team, they can pass the ball. He's turned the whole club around, so it's not going to be a easy game for us on Sunday."
    Fulham were fortunate to catch United in the depths of a defensive injury crisis in December when they beat them 3-0, with midfielder Michael Carrick forced to operate as an emergency centre back.
    However, the first-choice pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were back in harness against Milan on Wednesday (March 10).
    "When I see the two of them together there's a sense of security that we've been fighting all season," Ferguson explained.
    "We have been relying on Jonny Evans for a long time, Wes Brown's played there, Michael Carrick's been playing there, we had Darren Fletcher playing there!
    "When you see those two together (Ferdinand and Vidic), you get the experience, you get the authority, you get the understanding of each other. It was great to see."
    With Gary Neville, at 35, also delivering an impressively athletic display at right back against Milan, United are looking solid in defence again as they go into the business end of the season.
    Ferguson said he expected Ryan Giggs to be back in action in time to play against Liverpool on March 21 having returned to full training with a new lighter cast on his broken arm.
    "He's been training really well, his performances has been fantastic, we will get a fresh player back which is good.
    "So I'll try and formulate the best games to play him in, in terms of freshness, resting him one game and making him ready for this one.
    "We gave him a months rest so he's going to come back a fresh player for us."
    United are two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table but the Blues do have a game in hand.
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