Sun still shining for Dowie

Defender Danny Granville said it still did a lot for morale. He said: "It was a massive result for us. No one expected us to get anything out of it.

"Sir Alex Ferguson has been trying to play a few mind games with Chelsea and I don't think they were expecting our performance. But we have got Chelsea next and it would be nice to return the compliment for United."

Sir Alex Ferguson's team complained their way through Saturday's match at Selhurst Park and will be lucky if their behaviour escapes a mention in referee Mark Clattenburg's report.

The manager gave fourth official Andy D'Urso his famous hairdryer treatment over an offside decision during the first half and worse followed.

Wayne Rooney was booked for dissent despite only playing the final 17 minutes as a substitute and had to be pulled away from the referee at the final whistle. Assistant manager Carlos Queiroz also had to be pushed away from Clattenburg by stewards as they left the pitch at the end.

United were furious that a late penalty claim for handball against Fitz Hall was not given. Granville added: "They were talking to the referee a lot and the game obviously meant a lot to them. We said beforehand that we would just keep smiling because if people lose it you know you are getting to them."

The result allowed Chelsea to extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points and Ferguson conceded his side have a mountain to climb to catch them in the title race.

Saturday's game was also poor preparation for United's Champions League trip to AC Milan tomorrow.

They have to overturn a 1-0 deficit and Ferguson believes his side will have to improve on what he considers their greatest display, the 3-2 win against Juventus in Turin six years ago.

He said: "That was probably our best performance of all time, but we are going to have to better it to get through against Milan."