HAVING been one of the unfortunate and entirely innocent victims of "Fergie fury" in the past, it was extremely heartening and somewhat surprising to hear the Old Trafford supremo so magnanimous in defeat last Saturday.

The Manchester United manager's post-match rages are legendary, whether it is his players (rarely and privately), referees (occasionally and publicly) or the media (often and unreported) who are the targets.

So, after the Reds had lost successive home games for the first time in four years, it was a fair bet somebody was going to get it in the neck.

But Sir Alex Ferguson gave an object lesson in sportsmanship and sincerity in his accurate and honest assessment of the game.

He acknowledged the good job Sam Allardyce is doing; conceded Wanderers deserved their victory and encouragingly suggested that being "formidable away from home" they should have no fears in the Premiership. He even admitted referee Graham Barber should have awarded a penalty AGAINST United when Juan Veron tripped Per Frandsen.

Now, Sir Alex can be extremely generous to his opponents but he is prone to reacting abrasively when things have not gone as he would have liked - not always when United have been beaten!

And this was one occasion when he might have been tempted to either deflect the attention by throwing in a red herring (as some managers are prone to do) or to harp on so much about his own problems that Wanderers would hardly have had a mention.

Actually he did have a little dig at the "tacky" pitch which suggests groundsman Keith Kent might have been in for a ticking off (so at least the Ferguson family cat will have been saved from a kicking!).

Seriously, Fergie's comments were perfectly balanced and rational. He reckoned United were lethargic, made individual errors and didn't create a clear-cut chance in the second half; Wanderers were hard to break down and could have won by more.

In short: "We didn't deserve to win and they did!"

Thank you Sir Alex.