NEWS ROUND-UP

“We are on a good run of wins. We are all very confident and we need to carry it on. The league is a long slog but hopefully this will be the start of things to come.

“We have another tough game on Saturday at Sheffield United, especially on the back of an international break, because we won't have a lot of time to prepare for it. But it is part of the job and we have to do it.

“We must remain focused and get the result. We are very confident we will. We ground the result out at Blackburn. If you are going to win the league, Ewood is the type of place where you need to get a result. We showed a lot of character to get the three points.

“We need a few of these type of victories to win the title. I have not been here long but that has already been made clear to me.

“They had a few half-opportunities but we had some too and could have wrapped the game up a bit earlier.

“Wayne had a couple of chances which he would normally stick away. But with the ability we have up front we can cause anyone problems.”

From the Mirror:

Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a first-half hattrick and then grabbed a spectacular fourth as Real Madrid hammered Osasuna 4-1 in Pamplona.

The former Manchester United striker turned in a one-man striking masterclass in the absence of the injured Ronaldo. But David Beckham was restricted to another cameo appearance, playing the last seven minutes as a substitute for Guti.