Fergie questions United support
Sir Alex Ferguson has called on the Old Trafford crowd to become more vocal
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Tuesday, 01, Jan 2008 09:10
Sir Alex Ferguson has called for the Old Trafford crowd to get behind their side after they laboured to a 1-0 home win over Birmingham.
A sublime strike from Carlos Tevez proved the difference as the Red Devils kept up the pressure on league leaders Arsenal, but Ferguson claimed a subdued New Year's Day atmosphere did little to urge his team on.
"The atmosphere was not very good. It was like a funeral out there and we needed them [the crowd] to lift us a bit. We needed that today," he told Sky Sports.
"It was the quietest I have heard here for some time and the atmosphere today did not help us. There have been periods like that in the past. Some years ago, when we were dominant, the crowd came to be entertained.
"Sometimes we need them to get behind us. They can help produce the right performance but we did not get that today."
There was mixed injury news for Ferguson as he saw his Argentinean goalscorer limp out of action while midfielder Park Ji-sung put in a polished performance in his first game back from a nine-month lay-off.
Tevez is likely to miss next weekend's FA Cup third round clash with Aston Villa but Park could retain his place after excelling for 75 minutes before making way for substitute Owen Hargreaves.
"As Park has been out for nine months I thought it was a very impressive performance from him," Ferguson said.