Sir Alex Ferguson hits back at Fabio Capello, Jose Mourinho over Man U decline rap

Sir Alex Ferguson has hit back at England boss Fabio Capello and Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho for saying Manchester United are in decline.

Capello claimed that stuttering United is no longer a "war machine", while former Chelsea chief Mourinho said they badly missed ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Manchester United boss Ferguson said: "With all the problems we've had with injuries to defenders, I would have definitely accepted being two points off the top of the table by the end of the year.

"We have come through a key period - if we beat Wigan we will have got through it without too much damage," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Victory over the Latics at home tonight would move United to within two points of leaders Chelsea.

Ferguson also refused to buy Mourinho's claim that United are missing Ronaldo.

"I think we've got 14 different goal scorers this season. They're all weighing in from different positions. So why worry? The important thing is we're winning and we've scored a lot more than at the same stage last season," he said.

United have scored eight more goals than in their opening 19 games last season and are only a point down from their haul from a year ago.