Ferguson demands killer instinct

MANCHESTER United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has called for a more ruthless streak from his Premier League champions.

The Reds were barely out of cruise control in Wednesday’s 2-0 home victory over West Ham, but failed to find the net in the second half following an opening 45 minutes of attacking flair which all but ended the match as a contest.

"The first half was magnificent, but the second was disappointing," admitted Ferguson.

"I was ready for more of the same. I felt we were going to add to our goal tally, which could be important at the end of the season, but we didn't capitalise."

United can ill afford to drop their level of performance if they are to keep tabs on Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of the table and tomorrow’s visit of Hull City is likely to provide a sterner test than Wednesday’s stroll in the park.

The Premier League new boys have been the season’s surprise packets, rising to as high as third in the table following successive away wins at Newcastle, Arsenal, Tottenham and, most recently, West Brom.

They clearly have the right formula on their travels and United will do well to treat the Tigers with the respect they deserve.

However, Hull must bounce back from the setback of a 3-0 midweek home defeat at the hands of Chelsea, which left manager Phil Brown seething.

He said: "It was a kick in the proverbials, but we have got to dust ourselves down.

"We came up against a quality side and we didn't bring our best game to the table, even though we caused them problems in the first half.

"I don't enjoy getting beat. I haven't come into the Premier League just to enjoy it – I have come into the Premier League to try to win games of football and this was poor by our standards."

A repeat performance against United would spell disaster, but Hull have already shown their ability to recover from adversity this season.

Their shock 5-0 home defeat at the hands of Wigan was followed by a 2-1 win at Newcastle so Ferguson is likely to afford tomorrow’s visitors to Old Trafford every respect by fielding a strong line-up.

Nani, who tormented West Ham in midweek, will surely retain his place up front, while the in-form Wayne Rooney is likely to start after playing for only 20 minutes against the Hammers.

Ferguson hinted that Cristiano Ronaldo would be rested on Wednesday, but the Portuguese star did start and scored the two goals which secured the points.

However, Ronaldo’s overall display was laboured and it would be no surprise to see him relegated to the substitutes’ bench tomorrow.

The same cannot be said about midfield dynamo Darren Fletcher, whose outstanding recent form is expected to give him the nod over fit-again Michael Carrick.