Breathing room delights Boss

With an intriguing title race seemingly winding towards a tight finish, Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to open up a three point lead after victory over Bolton.

Arsenal and Chelsea now trail the Reds by three and five points respectively and, although United rarely scaled the heights against the Trotters, Sir Alex was focused entirely on some welcome breathing room.

"The important thing was that we had the opportunity and incentive to get to three points clear of Arsenal, our nearest pursuer, and we’ve done that," he told MUTV after the game.

"It’s a lead, that’s important. It’s not a significant lead, but it’s a lead nonetheless. With eight games to go, the team that’s most consistent will win the league. If we can keep our consistency we have a chance.

"I think Chelsea hold the key to it, they have ourselves and Arsenal at home, and their home record is very good, so that to my mind is going to make it a really tight finish."

Cristiano Ronaldo's early brace gave a much-changed United side victory over Gary Megson's side, and Sir Alex was keen to salute the professionalism of his players against a spirited Bolton outfit.

"They’re all top players," he said. "I have to have faith and trust in them, and when they get their opportunities they know how important every game is for us. "I think at times we were a bit relaxed. When we sped the game up, played with great precision and penetration in the last third of the field, we could have scored a few goals. In the second half we were charitable again, but nevertheless we played some good football in these moments.

"Credit to Bolton, they’re fighting for their lives at the bottom of the league, and they had a real go at us tonight. They probably deserved better than they got, really. They played some good football at times and kept at us all the time, great credit to their tenacity."