ALEX FERGUSON insisted he had "no problem" with Cristiano Ronaldo's show of dissent and, for entirely different reasons, Carlos Tevez' own protests during the course of a comfortable derby win that has left Manchester United on the brink of their 18th league title.
Ronaldo had a fit of pique after being substituted an hour into the 2-0 defeat of Manchester City, whereas Tevez went into the match on the back of an interview with the News of the World in which he reiterated his feelings that he had no future at the club. Tevez pointedly celebrated scoring the second goal by running in front of the dugout and cupping his ears, looking up towards the club's directors.
Ronaldo was even more animated, repeatedly shaking his head and throwing his arms around as he took his seat in the dugout, and left the ground within 15 minutes of the game ending.
"You know what he's like," Ferguson said afterwards. "He wanted to stay on. It's a simple reason. He's such a great athlete but don't forget he's run his socks off on Tuesday [ against Arsenal]. I've got Wednesday's game against Wigan and Saturday against Arsenal to think about. I've got to look at how we can get through these games and keep the players as fresh as I can. He's in great form but I've got to look at the bigger picture."
Tevez' own frustration stems from a growing sense of resignation that United have no plans to pay the €24.6 million necessary to turn his two-year loan arrangement into a permanent deal. The Argentinian's adviser, Kia Joorabchian, intends to accelerate the search for a new club this week, with City among the early candidates. Mark Hughes, the City manager, described Tevez' performance as "exceptional".
As well as a host of top European clubs, including Real Madrid and Internazionale, Liverpool are also said to be monitoring Tevez' position, although the striker has decided not to entertain the idea of a switch to Anfield out of respect to the Old Trafford supporters who again implored Ferguson to "sign him up".
The chances of that happening appear to be receding, however, with Ferguson conceding that "nothing has changed" as well as making a pointed remark about the crowd's affections for Tevez. "The fans love a trier," he said. "That's the great thing about football. A lad who tries a lot can be forgiven for a lot of things."
Ferguson employs strict rules to stop his players from giving unauthorised interviews but, publicly anyway, the United manager came away from what he described as a "bad game" insisting he had no issue with Tevez going public with his grievances. "Not at all. If he keeps scoring I've got absolutely no problem."
United need four points from their remaining three games to sew up the championship and they could have it won by the time Liverpool next play. Liverpool had briefly gone to the top of the league after beating West Ham on Saturday but Ferguson said his side did not mind the pressure of playing second.
"They [ Liverpool] have played first a lot of times. But what does it matter? If we do our job, that's all we need to worry about."
Rio Ferdinand, who suffered a calf injury in training on Saturday, should be available for the trip to Wigan and United are now waiting to hear whether Uefa will allow Darren Fletcher to play in the European Cup final. "I'm always hopeful but we'll have to wait and see," Fletcher said of the appeal against his red card.
Ferguson has already said he is "not optimistic" and Fletcher also seemed to be prepared for bad news. "I've just got to accept it. I'm staying focused on the Premier League and the other lads can take care of the final."
City manager Hughes questioned referee Chris Foy's decision to award the free-kick to United which led to Ronaldo opening the scoring. It came after Stephen Ireland had been pulled up for a challenge on Dimitar Berbatov.
Tevez increased City's misery by extending the lead and Hughes said: "I am disappointed with the award of a free-kick for the first goal. I thought Stevie had won the ball. The free-kick gets a little deflection off Nigel de Jong but it was still a good strike, so you have to give (Ronaldo) credit.
"We are thinking we can still get something out of the game but get caught out on a long ball. Berbatov shows good control and he sets up Tevez. It was an outstanding strike for the second one.
"We felt hard done by as it was not a fair reflection on the game."
Hughes added: "We knew the second half would be difficult as United can get people behind the ball and play counter-attack. We did not ask enough questions of them. We did not have that presence needed. We had a lot of possession but there was not much of an end product."
