Ferguson backs Grant in Portsmouth survival fight

Alex Ferguson has backed Avram Grant to succeed at Portsmouth and believes the former Chelsea manager has the ability to save his new club from relegation from the Premier League.

Ferguson will renew his rivalry with Grant when Manchester United travel to Fratton Park on Saturday looking to secure a win that would cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League to two points, ahead of the leaders’ trip to Arsenal on Sunday.

The last time Ferguson and Grant were up against each other was the Champions League final of 2008, when United beat Chelsea on penalties to be crowned European Champions.

Now Grant’s first game back in English football is against the team which provided him with his darkest hour in the game. Despite coming within a successful spot kick of winning the European Cup, Grant was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

He is now back in the Premier League after succeeding Paul Hart and has the daunting task of not only lifting Portsmouth off the foot of the table, but somehow getting them out of the relegation zone between now and May.

Ferguson is convinced Portsmouth have chosen the right man to engineer an escape.

“Portsmouth have brought in a new manager and the club will be expecting a response,” he said. “The change of ownership causes disruption. New policies come in and you can see an affect on the pitch, but Portsmouth have some very good players.

“I’ve looked at the videos and they are in a false position, really.

“We know Avram well from Chelsea. He’s very experienced and I’m sure he’ll get the right reaction from his players.

“It’s always a great football ground and we need to deal with that, so it should be a very hard game for us.

“He (Grant) has kept in touch with the game quite a lot and he’ll be pleased to get back in. He’s got a task on his hands but hopefully he can manage it.”

United will be without three defenders for the trip south, with Jonny Evans (ankle), John O’Shea (foot) and Rio Ferdinand (back) all ruled out.

But Ferguson has been delighted by the form of Wes Brown alongside Nemanja Vidic in the centre of defence.

“Vidic and Wes Brown have been fantastic in recent games,” Ferguson said. “It just reminds me that when Wes Brown is fit he’s the best natural defender in the country.

“He’s a fantastic defender and his partnership with Vidic is fantastic, it’s given us a solid base.”

Ferguson is also an admirer of the resilience Brown, now 30, has displayed in repeatedly coming back from serious knee and ankle injuries.

“You have got to pay tribute to the lad,” Ferguson added. “He’s kept coming back from the injuries he’s had in his career. He’s had two cruciates and a broken ankle and other injuries.

“Last season he had a very stagnant season in terms of interruptions to his consistency, but the previous season he was our most consistent defender.

“Now he’s fit again and looking fantastic, he gets better all the time. Players need a run of games to get their consistency, timing and tempo and we are seeing this at the moment.

“I keep thinking he’s only 22 or 23, he’s got such a young approach to life. He’s done well dealing with all the things he’s had to deal with and still comes out fighting.”