Ferguson jumps to Rooney defence

FERGUSON'S VIEW Man Utd 2-0 Bolton

Sir Alex Ferguson insisted Manchester United's Wayne Rooney did not deserve to be sent off after he shoved his hand in Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim's face.

The incident was missed by referee Dermot Gallagher and the striker remained on the field.

United boss Ferguson said: "The Bolton player should be embarrassed by that because there was nothing in it at all.

"That type of thing is creeping into our game but I thought the referee did well. He let the game go."

United's squad has been hit by a flu virus, although Ferguson is hoping Gary Neville and Eric Djemba-Djemba will be fit to face Aston Vill on Tuesday.

"We are down to the bare bones at the moment. I had to send Gary Neville and Eric Djemba-Djemba home before the game because they were both feeling terrible."

Ferguson added: "At least we are getting consistency in our results now, which is a good thing because we need to keep chasing the top two, particularly Chelsea."