Vidic buoyed by scrappy win

Nemanja Vidic believes sidestepping the draw boys will enable Manchester United to sketch a much more acceptable picture by the middle of May.

During a round of Barclays Premier League matches when Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal all drew, Manchester United collected maximum points.

The Red Devils' 2-1 win over Southampton at Old Trafford on Wednesday night was not pretty, and even the most rose-tinted view of proceedings confirmed the Saints as unfortunate not to pocket a share of the spoils.

But on such obduracy are championships won.

And, as the veteran of four such campaigns, United skipper Vidic accepts there have to be days when the only positive is the most important one - victory.

"Sometimes you have to show your character when things are not happening," the Serbian said.

"Sometimes you have games where you just have to win.

"All the other teams drew their games, so we are in a good position now."

There are two schools of thought about this latest success, which re-established United's seven-point lead on Manchester City, and edged them further clear of the remainder, who, in truth, have very little chance of catching up anyway.

One is that such good luck and defensive frailty cannot last forever, the other that if United emerge from a performance like that with their status enhanced, there is no chance of them being denied a record-extending 20th championship.

Evidently, within the Old Trafford camp, the latter view holds sway, not that the title is being taken for granted.

"Winning games is important at this stage of the season," said Vidic.
"But we have to forget what has gone and focus on the next games. Nothing is finished yet."

What cannot be ignored is the shaky form of goalkeeper David de Gea.

Under the microscope after his weak punch saw United surrender a couple of points in injury time at Tottenham two weekends ago, the former Atletico Madrid man was no more secure on Wednesday night.

De Gea's failure to hold Rickie Lambert's second-half free-kick was a concerning moment, the Spaniard saving himself when he pounced on the rebound before Adam Lallana could reach it.

There does appear to have been a circling of De Gea at United in order to protect a man that has to be relied upon for the next three-and-a-half months.

And there seemed to be an element of 'you protest too much' about Michael Carrick's admission of guilt for the visitors' goal when two men seemed culpable.

"It was totally my fault," said Carrick.

"As the ball popped up I just tried to flick it back to David and I didn't get enough on it.

"I hold my hands up. It was my fault. I take the blame for that."

The other note of caution comes from an atrocious Old Trafford playing surface, which needs to be saturated prior to kick-off but becomes tricky once it dries out.

At one point Phil Jones looked accusingly at the surface after a slide akin to walking on an icy surface.

With a minimum of nine matches to play on it - more if United advance in the Champions League and FA Cup - Ferguson admitted it was "a worry".

"I don't want to make it an excuse but the pitch is an issue," added Carrick.

"It doesn't help because of the way we like to pass the ball. We want to move it quickly and the surface makes it difficult for us."