Rio happy for United to make ugly title charge

Rio Ferdinand has no qualms about Manchester United making an “ugly” charge for the Premier League title as the leaders look to extend their advantage at the top against Stoke today.

Defender Ferdinand insists United will take three points in any way, shape or form if that is what it takes to regain the Premier League crown from Chelsea.

Alex Ferguson’s team have been anything but fluent so far this term but remain unbeaten in the league and sit at the Premier League summit, ahead of Manchester City on goal difference and with two games in hand on their local rivals.

Their 2-1 win over West Brom on Saturday encapsulated their season so far as it was ugly and scrappy but ultimately successful.

Ferdinand said: “You’ve got to dig deep in these games; these are the type of games that make up big ground in the league.

“Other teams watching would probably have been thinking we’ll just nick a draw maybe, but to take three points against West Brom was great for us. You’ve got to win games, it’s as simple as that. I don’t care how we win.”

At Stoke, striker Kenwyne Jones needed a goal to boost his confidence and he duly delivered that in the Potters’ 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday.

That win means Stoke will visit Old Trafford in a positive frame of mind and with manager Tony Pulis hoping Jones can start scoring more goals after a recent dry spell.

“I’m really, really pleased for the lad because he’s had to deal with some pretty sad issues in his life and I think his confidence has dipped a bit as a result,” Pulis revealed

“Kenwyne’s had problems off the pitch that nobody knows about and they have had an effect on him. Fingers crossed, he has got over them now and got his head straight.

“We will go to Old Trafford and give it our best shot. We have struggled there but it would be nice to go there and make a good account of ourselves.”

The programme
Today: 21.00 Blackpool vs Birmingham; Fulham vs West Brom; Man. United vs Stoke City.
Tomorrow: 20.45 Arsenal vs Man. City; Aston Villa vs Sunderland; Newcastle vs West Ham; Wolves vs Chelsea. 21.00 Blackburn vs Liverpool; Bolton vs Wigan; Everton vs Tottenham.