Holloway tops, says Fergie

IF the manager of the year prize was being handed out this week, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson would happily hand it over to his Blackpool counterpart Ian Holloway.

The pair go head-to-head at Bloomfield Road tonight with Ferguson's United aiming to go five points clear at the Barclays Premier League summit by beating Holloway's side for the third time.

Yet even that setback would not detract from Ferguson's admiration for Holloway, whose team are almost as entertaining as his press conferences.

"Blackpool's form has been terrific so far," the United boss said.

"At this present moment in time, they would be my team of the year and Ian Holloway would be my manager of the year. They are having a golden spell. They are being very positive and scoring lots of goals.”

United's first top–flight trip to Bloomfield Road in almost 40 years has taken on even greater significance given the state of the Premier League table.

Two points ahead of Arsenal and three in front of Manchester City, a third away win of the season would ease United into a clear lead at the top and turn the screw on all their title rivals.


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