I want more in the return leg-SAF

Manchester United coach Sir
Alex Ferguson conceded that
his side's 0-0 Uefa
Champions League draw at
Marseille had been a
dreadful spectacle but said
he remained optimistic ahead
of the second leg.
United were made to toil in
Tuesday night's stalemate at
Stade Velodrome and rarely
threatened to score the
away goal that would have
put them in control of the last
16 tie ahead of the return
match on 15 March.
Ferguson took heart from
the performance of centre-
back pairing Nemanja Vidic
and Chris Smalling but his
mood in the post-match
press conference was
decidedly downbeat.
"Scoring away from home is
important and we didn't do
that, so that's a
disappointment to me," said
Ferguson. "It's a fair result.
Marseille didn't cause too
many problems for us. They
only had one strike on goal.
Our two centre-backs were
very good. In the first half
both teams cancelled each
other out. Nothing really
happened in the match and it
wasn't a very good match to
watch."
In recent years United have
grown adept at acquiring and
protecting narrow leads in
European away games and
Ferguson paid testament to
Marseille for hustling the
visitors out of their usual
rhythm.
"Our passing is usually
much, much better and I
thought it was a very poor
pitch compared to the usual
standard of pitches today,"
he said.
You have to give credit to
Marseille for pressing us well
and not giving us time on the
ball. But on our own ground,
we'll be much better."
Marseille coach Didier
Deschamps had emphasised
the importance of a clean
sheet in the days leading up
to the game and he was
thrilled to have prevented
United from claiming an away
goal.
"We've completed 50 per
cent of the journey, without
conceding any goals, which is
already very important,"
said the former France
international.
"The first half was fairly
tight on both sides.
We had a really good start
to the second half, for about
25 minutes, when we got into
some good situations without
producing any big chances.
During that period, when we
put them under pressure
with our attacking play, we
could even have scored a
little goal.
"But the end of the match
was more difficult, due to the
effort we'd put in and the
fact Manchester changed
system to a 4-4-2. It's good
that we managed to stay
solid. We'll have to continue
this defensive solidity at Old
Trafford."
Ferguson identified striker
Andre-Pierre Gignac, who
missed Tuesday's game with
a groin injury, and winger
Mathieu Valbuena, a late
entrant as a substitute, as
OM's key dangermen ahead
of the second leg.
United will also hope to have
first-team stalwarts such as
Rio Ferdinand and Ryan
Giggs back for the Old
Trafford showdown and
Ferguson said he did not
care how his side reached
the quarterfinals.
"Any 0-0 at this stage is a
disappointment, as away
goals count," he said. "But
you'd have to say, with
United at home, we have a
good chance. All we have to
do is win the game. I don't
care if it's 10-9."
United, three-time
champions, were eliminated
by Bayern Munich in the
quarterfinals last season,
while Marseille are bidding to
reach the last eight for the
first time since they won the
tournament in 1993.