Sir Alex Ferguson was glad to see his Manchester United side bag the three points without exerting much of an effort to beat Premiership strugglers Sheffield United 2-0 at Old Trafford. Strikes from the in-form Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney gave United a six-point lead over Chelsea who will meet West Ham on Wednesday. The Red Devils needed to play professionally to save some steam ahead of their busy schedule bidding for a treble of trophies this season. "It was a professional job in a way, particularly second half as we ran the clock down and won the game 2-0," Ferguson told a press conference after the win. "We kept the ball and saved our legs and it was a sensible thing to do, it was a pleasing result and the performance was economical as we didn't kill ourselves and that was important." At the other end, Neill Warnock was proud of his players' performance to contest a great United side.
Ferguson "I thought we gave a good account of ourselves but we have been beaten by a better side," said the Sheffield manager. But the Blades' coach signaled his frustration with referee Rob Styles' decision to deny Sheffield a clear penalty. The Premiership strugglers had a definite penalty claim turned down when United's Gabriel Heinze towed down Luton Shelton inside the box. "It was as clear as daylight that we should have had a penalty when Gabriel Heinze fouled Luton Shelton. "If you are a football person, if you look at the incident yourself it does not need anyone else to tell you." Warnock hinted that Styles may have ignored the foul as not to "upset" Sir Ferguson. "If he gives it he upsets Sir Alex Ferguson and I know people don't like to upset Sir Alex but he should have given that."
