Sir Alex hails midfield quartet

Sir Alex Ferguson heaped praised on his midfield quartet following the Reds' 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

Shorn of the services of six midfield squad members, the United boss opted to play a system which best utilised the skills of those players available to him.

Man of the Match Paul Scholes pulled the strings in the centre of the field, ably assisted by the returning Anderson, who was a bundle of energy throughout despite only having arrived home from China just hours earlier having represented his country at the Olympics.

John O'Shea was solid in his role in front of the back four, while Darren Fletcher found the scoresheet for the second successive game - although the goal may yet be taken off him by the Dubious Goals Panel.

"We wanted to play a system in which the players we had would be comfortable in their positions and I think we used our players the right way," explained Sir Alex to MUTV.

"Anderson wanted to play and I think he showed it was a very good decision - he was fantastic.

"Paul Scholes looked to control the game and I think he did that. We also had the energy and the qualities that both John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher bring to the team.

"I don't think Darren will complain about the goal [if it's taken off him] and neither will I! He's not playing in his favourite position, but he still makes a lot of good runs and has such fantastic energy. I'm really pleased to see him get the credit he deserves.

"I think we've shown the quality of our squad - I've got no fears about that. The squad from last season is good enough to go on and do it again," added the manager.

The victory over Harry Redknapp's men was United's first league win of the season and Sir Alex is hoping for a repeat performance and result in Friday's UEFA Super Cup final against Zenit St. Petersburg in Monaco.

"I think we played some excellent football with really good periods of passing and moving and I hope we can keep that going," he said.

"We want to win on Friday. Last time we played in the final [against Lazio in 1999] we played half a team as we had a league game against Newcastle three days later.

"Lazio celebrated like they'd won the World Cup - I wasn't too pleased and I said to myself that won't happen again. We'll play a strong team. Players who need the game, like Gary Neville for instance, will play on Friday. Hopefully we get the result we want."