Today (Friday) was the weeks scheduled press conference with Sir Alex Ferguson at Carrington Training Complex ahead of the visit of Tottenham Hotspurs to Old Trafford this Saturday.
As ever, Nick Coppack and the manutd.com team were on hand to supply the latest quotes from the press conference which are below:
Sir Alex Ferguson on the latest squad injuries:
“We had bad news earlier in the week about Nemanja [Vidic]. It’s a blow. We’ve had a terrible time with defenders. Hopefully we get through the next three games and the international break comes along. By that time we should have Chris Smalling back.
Sir Alex Ferguson on Wednesday vs Newcastle
“On Wednesday we played two young boys and they did very well. Scott Wootton reads the game well, passes the ball well and having seen him in a situation against very experienced players, I thought he did very well. That’s a bonus for us and he’ll be involved in the game tomorrow.
On Antonio Valencia’s injury:
“Antonio Valencia’s doubtful. He got a knock first of all when he went into the tackle with Agger and Johnson [at Anfield] before he broke clear and got brought down. He got an ankle injury there. But if he’s not okay for tomorrow he should be okay for Tuesday [against Cluj].
On the Tottenham fixture tomorrow:
“Tottenham is always an interesting game and they play good football. It’s disappointing for Harry Redknapp not to be there after the job he did but the new lad, Andre Villas-Boas has a similar philosophy that suits Tottenham. His teams always try and play and it should be an interesting game. I think it will be open and they’ll come to try and express themselves. United/Tottenham games are always good. Hopefully we can maintain our consistency at the moment, which isn’t too bad.
On Darren Fletcher:
“Darren Fletcher is in the squad for tomorrow. Obviously having played on Wednesday night and contributed so well – also it was his first game of that magnitude for 10 months – I wouldn’t start him. But he may get a place on the bench and he could possibly go to Romania and play against Cluj. That could be an ideal opportunity for him. His enthusiasm on Wednesday night was fantastic. Darren sat in front of the two centre-backs and did a really good job.”
On Rio Ferdinand and England:
“It’s entirely up to Rio. I wouldn’t think he’ll get called up. I think Roy made his decision for the Euros and I can’t see him changing that. It would be difficult for him to go to Rio now and welcome him back. If that happens it’s entirely up to Rio in terms of what he wants to do. I don’t know if Rio would do it – I haven’t asked him. It’s just speculation from the press at the moment after Terry’s decision to retire from international football.”
