Ryan eyes new landmark

Ryan Giggs is on the brink of making his 800th United appearance for the Reds, and it's just yet another reminder of the Welsh midfielder's astonishing achievements as a player at Old Trafford.

Giggs was outstanding in his 799th run-out for United in the 2-0 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday. He will make it 800 if he plays against either Tottenham on Saturday or Arsenal on Wednesday.

“Ryan is the most respected player at the club," said Reds boss Sir Alex. "What he has achieved is an example for everyone.

“When you think of Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, who played in the semi-final last week, Ryan made his debut about the time they were born! It’s unbelievable. Whatever accolades he gets, he deserves them."

Giggs has won just about all the game has to offer, but so far the PFA Player of the Year award has proved elusive. Sir Alex thinks it would be a fitting tribute if the 35-year-old was handed the trophy at the annual ceremony in London this Sunday.

“I hope [he gets it]," added the boss. "He’s played 40 games this season. The way you use squads today, not everyone plays all the games, very few do. So hopefully he is rewarded for his contribution to the game, and he would thoroughly deserve it.

“We’re a very special club that way, in that players put down there career at a club like us. Being local boys does help. Players like Giggs and Paul Scholes are not in on sentiment, they’re there on ability.”

Michael Carrick agrees, saying that Scholes, who made his 600th appearance on Wednesday, and Giggs are have achieved extraordinary levels of success which he aspires to.

"They're just unbelievable professionals with fantastic talent and ability," Carrick told MUTV. "They are great people to learn from and the perfect example of what it takes to be a winner at this club.

"They're an inspiration to us all. To keep producing over such a long period at the highest level is frightening. Not many people can do that and it speaks volumes for the kind of players and people they are."

Inspiring Reds

"What's left to say about them? They're just unbelievable professionals with fantastic talent and ability who are great people to learn from. They're the perfect example of what it is to be a winner at this club."

- Michael Carrick

Ryan Giggs
Age - 35
Appearances - 799
Goals - 147

Paul Scholes
Age - 34
Appearances - 600
Goals - 142

Rio's back for key Spurs visit

Rio Ferdinand is fit for Saturday's tea-time clash with Tottenham, while Rafael will start at right-back following injuries to Gary Neville and John O'Shea.

Ferdinand was rested in Wednesday's win over Portsmouth after playing for 120 minutes in the FA Cup semi-final. The 30-year-old has struggled with a groin problem, but he is to be recalled into the starting line-up.

"After extra time at Wembley, we felt it was best to rest Rio," said the boss. "Jonny Evans never lets us down, so we did the sensible thing in resting Rio. We have Tottenham, a European tie against Arsenal on Wednesday, a Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Middlesbrough, then Arsenal again the following Tuesday.

"It’s a run of games in which we don’t take chances. Hopefully we manage the whole thing without killing ourselves in terms of players playing too much.”

Reds skipper Gary Neville will miss the next two weeks after hobbling out of the Pompey victory with a foot injury. However, there's better news for John O'Shea, who came on for Neville but was later forced off.

"O’Shea’s injury isn't as bad as we thought," Sir Alex added. "We sent him for a scan, which came back all clear. He trained on Friday, which is good. We were surprised because when it happened (a tackle from Belhadj) I thought it was a bad one. Fortunately, it’s not serious."

Wes Brown may be included in the squad after coming through his second Reserves game on Thursday. “Wes played and did OK. It’s a bit early for him to start a match, but it’s good that he’s back. We've had a great deal of trouble at right back this season. Now we have Wes and young Rafael available. Rafa did well against Portsmouth and he'll start against Tottenham."

United are three points clear in the title race, but Spurs are the league's form team and Sir Alex isn't underestimating the threat posed by his old friend Harry Redknapp.

“It’s another hard game," he said. "At this time of the season you don’t get easy games. Harry has got Spurs settled down now. He’s used his experience and his eye for the right players has always been good. There is a consistency about Tottenham now. They’re difficult to beat and they’re pushing for a European place.

“We’re in a better position today than we were last Friday. But you see the road ahead and it is tricky. Every game is hard now; credit to the league, you never get an easy game. So the only way to deal with it is focus on each match as it comes along, which is what we will do against Tottenham. Hopefully that gets us where we want to be.

“At this stage of the season you play a game and it’s whittled off the list. If you win, it’s a real bonus for you. It’s an advantage of one less game.”

Fletch: Nothing is guaranteed

Darren Fletcher admits United's win over Portsmouth could prove vital after the Reds moved three points clear of Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League title race.

Although the Reds also have a game in hand on both Liverpool and Chelsea, the Scottish midfielder is adamant that the reigning champions must retain a steely focus to get the job done.

"It was a massive result after Liverpool only getting a point against Arsenal," Fletcher told MUTV. "It was important that we came out and won. We’re top of the league, three points ahead and we have a game in hand.

"We’re not counting that game in hand because the points aren’t in the bag yet and there are going to be plenty of twists and turns in this season. All we can do is concentrate on ourselves and as long as we keep winning matches then we should win the league."

Tottenham are next up at Old Trafford before attentions switch to the Champions League visit of Arsenal, but Fletch says the players' thoughts haven't turned to the Gunners' mouth-watering visit just yet.

"We’ve got three massive home games," he said. "We got Portsmouth out of the way, now we look to Tottenham. We can only look to our next game and try and get three points in that. That’s always the case just now: concentrate on your next match and don’t get too far ahead of yourself."

Papers: Don't go, Carlos

Carrick: Don't leave us, Tevez
Michael Carrick last night begged Carlos Tevez: Please don’t leave us. In an exclusive interview with SunSport, the Manchester United and England midfielder issued a desperate plea to his Argentinian team-mate to rethink his threat to quit Old Trafford at the end of the season. We revealed yesterday hitman Tevez, 25, was fed up being sidelined for United’s big games and wants to play abroad for family reasons. But United’s stars hope he will have a change of heart. Carrick said: “We want him to stay, Carlos is a top player. He has scored some very important goals for us over the last few years. We’ve got a world-class squad, we’ve got world- class players and Carlos is one of them. We want to keep moving forward as a team and as a squad so we’d like to keep our best players here. But it’s down to the manager. I’m sure he knows the best way to make sure we do keep progressing.”
Martin Blackburn, The Sun

The Times claims Tevez may still be in the Premier League next season, but with Liverpool rather than United. Rafael Benitez is allegedly monitoring the Argentine's situation in case he does leave Old Trafford.

The same paper also carries comments from an interview Benitez gave to a Spanish newspaper. Speaking about Sir Alex Ferguson, the Spaniard said: “I’m not having a battle of words with Alex Ferguson. But I believe that he can see that we are the better side and that we’re very close to United."

United 2 Portsmouth 0

Another nervous evening's work at Old Trafford, but goals at either end of the 90 minutes from Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick gave United three points against Portsmouth, putting clear daylight between champions and challengers in the Barclays Premier League title race.

A procession of chances came and went in-between the two strikes, meaning much of the evening made uncomfortable viewing even though United - and in particular the front pairing of Rooney and Ryan Giggs - often had Portsmouth chasing shadows.

After Sunday's FA Cup semi-final marathon against Everton, Sir Alex Ferguson made wholesale changes for the second successive game, with a string of big-name players returning. Two of them - Giggs and Rooney - combined sumptuously to put United ahead inside nine minutes.

Darren Fletcher, back from injury and on the lung-busting form of recent weeks, won the ball and it was quickly ferried forward to Anderson, whose excellent pass allowed Giggs to spring the visitors' offside trap. Waiting in the centre was Rooney, who finished with aplomb after a perfect rolled cross from his veteran colleague.

Amid the joy and release of any early tension, attentions switched to skipper Gary Neville, who sat stricken in his own half after sustaining a foot injury. After consultation with the club's medical staff, the club captain was promptly replaced by John O'Shea.

With the prospect of a three-point lead looming, United were clearly intent on also boosting a goal difference which had been overtaken by second-placed Liverpool in recent weeks, and the chances came thick and fast.

It was O'Shea who came closest to doubling the Reds' advantage before the break, as he headed Giggs' left-wing corner past James, only for Nadir Belhadj to smuggle the ball off the line and away to safety.

Next, a mis-timed header from Sol Campbell allowed Ronaldo to break down the right and cross low across the area for Giggs. His delicate chip beat James, but also drifted just past the far post. The 35-year-old held his head in his hands, aware that a glorious chance had just gone begging.

It looked like Giggs had made amends a minute later by feeding Rooney to round James and score, but a linesman's flag belatedly - but correctly - chalked it off. Quite how half-time came and went with United only one goal ahead was a mystery.

The fact that so many chances had come and gone seemed to increasingly play on United's minds as the second half unfolded. The Reds' cause wasn't helped when O'Shea suffered an injury after a clash with Belhadj, who appeared to stand heavily on the Irishman's foot. With the injury count rising but the goals tally stuck on one, a nervous atmosphere began to brew within Old Trafford.

The tension was never higher than around the 70th minute, when Pompey mustered two particularly threatening forays forward. Peter Crouch, who ploughed a lone furrow without much joy but with plenty of effort, first volleyed wide, then saw his header well saved by Edwin van der Sar.

Rooney saw another shot well saved by James after latching onto van der Sar's long punt, but a priceless second goal did finally arrive with eight minutes left. Carrick, thrown on at the expense of Anderson, came up with the goods and Scholes, fittingly on his 600th United appearance, was the architecht.

Just as he has done umpteen times in his 15-year senior career, the midfield magician exploited a gap before the Pompey defence were able to plug it by slipping an inch-perfect pass into the run of Carrick, who finished clinically into James' bottom-right hand corner.

With the three points assured, United began to press forward with more abandon, striving to make up further goal difference. Ronaldo had a goal chalked off and also fired over while Rafael was denied by James, leaving the Reds still three behind Rafael Benitez's men on that count.

More importantly, however, the telling gap between champions and chasing pack is now three points, with a game in hand still to make up.

Reds need a strong finish

Sir Alex wanted more goals against Portsmouth, but Paul Scholes says he'd take a scrappy win over Tottenham at the weekend.

Wednesday's 2-0 victory sent the Reds three points clear of second-placed Liverpool. And with six games left in the title race, Scholes says that winning is all that matters.

"Whether we play well or we're lucky, it doesn't matter - we just need to make sure we win these games," he says.

"We are coming into the match at a really important time of the season, so hopefully we can get the result that we want."

Scholes made his 600th Reds appearance against Pompey - but even with his considerable experience, it doesn't make challenging for top honours any easier, and he expects a tough test at Old Trafford come Saturday tea-time.

The 34-year-old is well aware that Harry Redknapp's Spurs side possess players capable of knocking United's title challenge off track.

"They've got quite a few threats," he said. "Aaron Lennon was fantastic when we played Tottenham in the Carling Cup final recently. He was really difficult to handle.

"They've got top players like Jermaine Jenas, Robbie Keane, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Wilson Palacios and Luka Modric who can all hurt you. We have to be on our guard, and give a top performance to make sure we win."