Sir Alex Ferguson warns Manchester United players to "pull their fingers out"

Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his Manchester United players that they will have "to pull their fingers out" to retain the Premier League.

United go into today's clash with Aston Villa at Old Trafford with the title race back on after successive defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Fulham and facing a major shortage of strikers.

Carlos Tevez climbed off the plane returning him from Argentina duty on Friday night to lead the United attack today.

And United will be without Wayne Rooney, banned after his red-card rage at Fulham, at a time when rumours were rife in Manchester that the striker had a training ground bust-up with Ferguson in the aftermath of the Liverpool debacle.

Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson claimed on radio last weekend that the pair had fallen out, but last night, Ferguson hit back at the former Liverpool defender.

"I am aware of what has been said about me and Wayne Rooney, and I can tell you now it's absolute nonsense," he said.

"I don't know where it came from. The revealing part was when Lawrenson said that everyone knows, but I didn't know and I was supposed to have been there.

"It was a strange thing for Lawrenson to say. It could have been a bit of mischief because he's a Liverpool man but who cares? It's at times like these when I have to draw on my experience to help the players.

"We have had a couple of discussions with the players about all the nonsense that's gone on with people calling us unbeatable and invincible. We lost the League to Arsenal in 1998 when we were something like 12 points clear, but I don't think we are in that kind of situation this time. You will make mistakes at times, maybe just losing your focus for a week or two, but when it comes to the nitty gritty you expect players with the ability and experience they have to come through.

"We aren't thinking about winning five trophies we are just thinking about winning the next game. I think there has been a realisation inside the squad that they have lost that nice, big lead and that now is the time for them to pull their fingers out." Ferguson admitted that United's struggles in front of goal are a big concern for him..

The champions have seen their goal difference advantage evaporate in the face of Liverpool's free-scoring form.

And with Rooney banned and Dimitar Berbatov with an ankle problem that spared him from international duty with Bulgaria, the United boss has no option but to call on Tevez .

Ferguson said: "The problem has been that we aren't putting our usual percentage of chances away. But, put it this way, if it came down to goal difference on the final weekend of the season I would fancy our chances."

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