Sport

Alex Ferguson admits Robin’s rut was no surprise as van Persie’s golden touch returns for Manchester United

By Chris Bailey

Robin van Persie may be back in the goals for Manchester United, but Sir Alex Ferguson admits barren spells are part and parcel of a striker’s game.

The Dutchman scored a second-half penalty to cement a Red Devils win against Stoke City and take them one step closer to a 20th league title.

And though the £24m frontman’s form has come under-fire from some quarters, Ferguson believes the strike was a timely boost.

“I know what strikers are like – when they are scoring they think they are going to score all the time,” the Scot told MUTV.

“But when they’re not scoring they wonder when the next goal is going to come along.

“There are always going to be question marks from the press – and particularly from the player himself – when a striker hasn’t scored for a few weeks.

“So it was a great goal for Robin in that respect, and hopefully he kicks on from there.”

United go to West Ham tonight knowing they need only seven more points from six games to wrestle back the title from Manchester City.

The Hammers will prove another physical game after the Potters, but Ferguson revealed his side escaped unscathed from the Britannia Stadium.

“It was a tough game, certainly, but there were no injuries and that is a blessing of course,” he added.

“We have a good, strong squad. We took 20 players with us to Stoke and those 20 players will go with us again against West Ham.”

Image courtesy of Yahoo UK, via YouTube, with thanks.

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