Phelan defends Man Utd´s discipline

Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has defended the Premier League champions’ disciplinary record after their chaotic defeat at Fulham.

Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were sent off as United slumped to a petulant 2-0 defeat that reignited the title race.

Scholes saw red for handball but it was the behaviour of Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo that raised eyebrows.

Rooney was dismissed for a second booking after hurling the ball towards Phil Dowd after the referee ordered a quickly taken free-kick to be played again.

The England striker aimed a torrent of abuse at Dowd before punching the corner flag as he trudged towards the line.

Ronaldo could also have been sent off for a horror lunge on Danny Murphy that only earned a booking from Dowd, who was forced to talk to the Portugal winger on several occasions after displays of dissent.

But Phelan insisted United’s stormy defeat wasn’t a sign that they are cracking up as the title battle goes down to the wire.

“Am I concerned about indiscipline? No, we’ll take care of our own house. We are good at that,” Phelan said.

“Our players will be reflecting on their performances. They have got 10 days to do that. They go away for their internationals and they will come back with a clear mind.

“We felt that Wayne was trying to get on with the game. He got the ball and threw it back to his own player. I don’t think it was near the referee.

“It just seemed very trivial, maybe not in the referee’s eyes, but in our eyes it seems a trivial thing to do.

“With Scholes, I think the referee had to make the right call there. It is one of those decisions that nobody wants but it happens. We didn’t perform well enough in the first half in order to get a foot in the game and it gave us a lot to do.

“Sometimes you have got to be in control of the game and that goes for officials as well as players. We did probably lose our way a little bit during the game but I thought we performed heroically in the second half.”