Manchester United wary of Middlesbrough aggression

MANCHESTER, England Apr 20 (Reuters) Alex Ferguson hopes strong-arm tactics by Middlesbrough in tomorrow's Premier League match will not spoil Manchester United's treble bid.

Bad blood has been flowing since comments by Boro captain George Boateng after their FA Cup clash in mid-March and manager Ferguson fears they could affect tomorrow's game.

Middlesbrough's James Morrison was sent off for a crude challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese kept possession late in the quarter-final replay, which United won 1-0.

Boateng claimed United's winger would get hurt one day if he continued to tease and torment with his skills.

Ronaldo also got under Boro's skin when he was awarded a controversial penalty in United's league win in December, when the referee was Chris Foy who will be in charge again.

Ferguson is concerned Middlesbrough will adopt a physical approach at Old Trafford, just four days before United host the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against AC Milan.

''I think there is a paranoia about the boy (Ronaldo) and I think they will be aggressive tomorrow,'' he said.

''It's up to the referee to control the game and decide whether players are kicking or fouling him.'' PROVOCATIVE COMMENTS Ferguson feels the Football Association should have taken action against Boateng whose comments he called ''provocative''.

''The important thing is to make sure we express ourselves in our normal way, play our football and hopefully that takes us to the win we need,'' he said.

United go into the game three points ahead of Chelsea as they close in on their first Premier League title since 2003.

They are also chasing the Champions League and FA Cup but regaining the domestic title seems top of the priority list.

''You set off the season hoping you are going to win a major trophy,'' he said.

''With an immense amount of luck we could win three. But if we win the league then I'll be quite happy at that.'' United's defensive resources have been badly stretched in recent weeks but Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea are fit to return against Middlesbrough. Patrice Evra has also shaken off a knock sustained in the mid-week win over Sheffield United.

''Anytime I've done well, I've always had a bit of luck,'' said Ferguson. ''The luck we need now is to keep this group fit again for the rest of the season. If we do that then we have a real big chance.'' Nemanja Vidic will return to training on Monday after a broken collar bone while Gary Neville could be fit next weekend.

Louis Saha, Ji-sung Park and Mikael Silvestre are sidelined.

REUTERS TB KP2114