Boss hails Spurs revival

Tottenham’s superb recent wins over two title contenders have sharpened United’s focus on the task at hand this weekend, says Sir Alex Ferguson.

Spurs have done the Reds a huge favour by beating Chelsea and Arsenal in the last fortnight, and are seeking a hat-trick of scalps on Saturday, though that would necessitate a first win at Old Trafford in more than two decades.

United are within a point of Chelsea with three games to go, thanks to last weekend’s dramatic Manchester derby victory, while Harry Redknapp’s side are now in prime position to claim the much-coveted fourth Champions League spot.

And Ferguson has nothing but praise for the way his counterpart has transformed the White Hart Lane outfit from also-rans into a force to be reckoned with.

“I think this is the best Tottenham team in my time at United,” Sir Alex said. “When I came here they had Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle and Clive Allen, but this team has a lot of substance to it. He's done a great job, Harry.

“Of course I was delighted with Spurs’ displays against Arsenal and Chelsea. They were absolutely brilliant, and could've won by more goals than they did, but their performance level was terrific. Now I'm faced with the same problem, coming up against them.

“The good thing is that all our players have watched these games. They've seen the quality they've got and that helps – we're not going into the unknown.”

Last season’s corresponding fixture produced a thrilling, come-from-behind 5-2 win for United, and Ferguson is expecting more entertaining fare on Saturday. The Reds boss even went so far as to predict Spurs’ line-up.

“It'll be a good game, I'm sure of that,” Sir Alex said. “It’s always a lively, entertaining game between two clubs who believe in the same things.

“Wilson Palacios is an important player for them, and I think Luka Modric, Tom Huddlestone and Gareth Bale will play. I think Harry’ll go with his 4-4-2, but I could be wrong. He could be watching me now and saying: 'we'll sort him out, we'll play nobody up front!'

“They're going for fourth place, so I'm sure they'll come and have a go. I always expect that from Tottenham. That was championship form you saw from them against Arsenal and Chelsea, beating two of the best three teams in the league convincingly.

“We know it's a difficult game, but we need to take advantage of last weekend.”

With Chelsea facing Stoke on Sunday, United can go top with victory at Old Trafford. But Sir Alex does not necessarily believe playing first benefits his side.

The Reds boss added: “We just need to concentrate on our own job, then we can let Chelsea deal with their situation. I don't know if it's an advantage going first at this time of year. But we know we have to win, that's the important thing."