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Fergie admits mistakes after scare

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted not all his tactics paid off against Southampton © PA Photos

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Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his tactics backfired as Manchester United were forced to come from behind to avoid an embarrassing defeat.

"Sometimes we make it difficult for ourselves but, in fairness, I maybe meddled with the system somewhat this afternoon,'' Ferguson told MUTV. "We tried a diamond in the middle of the pitch and, of course, Manchester United are used to playing with width all the time and I think that was a problem for us.

"It wasn't working at all. We had some possession of the ball but we never really threatened. We had two or three shots from the edge of the box. It was a nothing first half, really, and the goal, if anything, made us play. [Southampton] scoring the goal right on half-time motivated us a bit to do better.''

Nigel Adkins insists that Southampton have no intention of selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain despite interest from some of the Premier League elite.

"We are not envisaging selling him, we're not looking to sell him,'' he said after the match. "We don't want to sell him. I think it is beneficial for him to be playing regularly for Southampton in the Football League, giving him a chance to develop.

"Yes, he is well courted and you can see today that he has ability about him. Southampton Football Club are not looking to sell Alex Chamberlain.''

Adkins admitted he would not be surprised if Ferguson enquired about Oxlade-Chamberlain when they spoke later on, but the Saints boss insists the clash with Exeter remains his primary focus.

"There is always going to be mass speculation; there has been throughout the transfer window,'' he said. "It shuts at 11 o'clock on Monday evening and there will be mass speculation all the way up until then.

"All we can do is control the controllables, which is getting Alex ready with the group in preparation for a very big game for this football club on Tuesday night at Exeter.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.