Ferguson targets a century of goals

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson wants his side to score 100 Premier League goals this season.

The league leaders are already well on their way to reaching that target, having scored 26 goals with a quarter of the season passed.

A century of goals is a personal target for Ferguson, one which he believes his side can achieve with a healthy supply of goals coming from all areas of his team.

“Yeah, 15 goalscorers this year,” he told The Mirror when asked about the spread of goals in his side.

“Well, it’s definitely helping us at the moment. We had the 2000 season when we were one goal short of 100 goals in the league and the last game was at Villa Park and we had the opportunity, but didn’t quite make it.

“It would be nice to think that. There are goals in the team, I think that’s the satisfying thing for me. Fifteen goalscorers is fairly healthy.”

Summer signing Robin van Persie has weighed in with eight league strikes already, but it is the likes of Johnny Evans and Patrice Evra also getting in on the act this season that pleases the manager.

“It’s getting ridiculous that Evra and Evans have scored two! They’ve doubled their tally in their career but we’ll take them from anyone,” he said.

“You know that we don’t care who scores and I’m sure the strikers are that way also, as long as they are winning the matches, and we are getting the goals, then we’re not caring who gets them.”

The United boss also sympathised with Arsene Wenger over Jack Wilshere’s England call-up. He is himself protecting Chris Smalling after his injury lay-off and understands the Arsenal manager’s concerns over his player.

“I can understand completely where Arsene is coming from. It’s like with Chris Smalling, I don’t want to play him tomorrow (after facing Braga following injury), but I may have to,” he said.

“When you are out for a long period and you play your first game, adrenaline helps you. But there’s a reaction, a physical reaction say a few days later, and that’s why we’re worried about Smalling for instance, and hopefully Evans will be fit.

“I may consider having to play Carrick at centre-back, depends on how Chris is this morning. He came through fantastically well, we’re very, very pleased but you never know after being out for so long.”