Source: Team_Talk
Critics got to Berbatov - Fergie
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he had to step in and stop Dimitar Berbatov beating himself up about his Manchester United performances.[LNB] Berbatov has been forced to endure as many brickbats as plaudits during his two seasons at Old Trafford.[LNB]Although the Bulgarian is undoubtedly a player of immense talent, there are many who do not appreciate his languid style and feel he does not put enough heart into his performances.[LNB]Comparisons with the obvious industry of Carlos Tevez, who was squeezed out by Berbatov's arrival and eventually opted to leave for Manchester City in a highly controversial move, have often not been favourable.[LNB]And it seems Berbatov has taken too much notice of the bad publicity as, ahead of Sunday's encounter with Liverpool, Ferguson has revealed he had to tell his club record £30.75million record signing to stop taking so much notice of the critics.[LNB]"Not everyone has questioned Dimitar," said Ferguson.[LNB]"He has a lot of admirers, particularly at this club.[LNB]"But when we buy a player for a lot of money, there is more focus on him. If they have an odd bad game there is a criticism which other players may not get.[LNB]"He worried about it himself, however, as I told him, he has to dismiss the press.[LNB]"Dimitar has had some terrific games for us. He is enjoying his football and he will play on Sunday."[LNB]Arguably, Berbatov has started the season in a more consistent vein of form than at any time since his big-money move to Old Trafford.[LNB]He currently tops the United scoring charts with four and Ferguson admitted he may have made an error leaving the 29-year-old out of his squad for Tuesday's Champions League stalemate with Rangers, when his invention could have been very useful.[LNB]As it turned out, aside from United's failure to overcome Rangers' smothering tactics, the game was most notable for Antonio Valencia's horrific ankle injury.[LNB]Immediately after the incident, the combination of a dislocation and a fracture left Ferguson to state his winger was out for the season.[LNB]But following an operation on Wednesday afternoon, it seems the damage is not quite that bad.[LNB]"You can never be 100% accurate in these situations and it is a bad injury, but we are looking at the end of February," said the United boss.[LNB]"The operation has been successful and the break was clean, which was the major concern for us at the time.[LNB]"He is a strong boy, who is very positive about it.[LNB]"Being positive helps you in these situations, so we are very hopeful we will get him back."[LNB]Ferguson, who has no other injury concerns ahead of Sunday's blockbuster duel with Liverpool at Old Trafford, accepts the loss of Valencia is a significant blow.[LNB]However, in Nani, Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung, plus to a lesser extent, Gabriel Obertan and new-boy Bebe, who made his reserve team debut last night, he feels United have the options to cope.[LNB]"Antonio had a great season last year," he said.[LNB]"He was a great signing for us. He is a young player who has been improving all the time.[LNB]"It is a blow losing good players but in the context of the kind of squad we have, we should be able to cope with it.[LNB]"You always fear when you have a good player out of your team it is going to be a loss.[LNB]"But having players like Nani, Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung, plus Gabriel Obertan and Bebe means we have options."[LNB]What will benefit Valencia as he begins the long fight for fitness is a positive mindset.[LNB]That was never better exemplified than by Alan Smith, who suffered similar misfortune during an FA Cup tie at Liverpool in 2006, but whose mental toughness astounded even Ferguson.[LNB]"There is a mental part to it," he said.[LNB]"Take the example of Alan Smith. When Alan got his bad injury in that cup-tie against Liverpool, he was so positive.[LNB]"He sat in that treatment room at Anfield so nonchalant and relaxed about it.[LNB]"Yet you look at his ankle and think 'God Almighty'.[LNB]"That attitude definitely helped him."
