Sir Alex Ferguson refuses to panic despite admitting defeat at Newcastle hands City advantage

By Mancunian Matters staff

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says his side will not panic despite a second defeat in five days.

United were taken apart by a classy Newcastle United side last night, going down 3-0 thanks to strikes from Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and a late Phil Jones own goal.

The defeat at the Sports Direct Arena came just days after United were beaten 3-1 at home to struggling Blackburn Rovers.

But Sir Alex, whose side are three points behind Manchester City in the Premier League table, said: "We have the experience to cope, we need to get the show on the road.

"It's not a time for panic. Losing a game at this time of the year can sometimes happen."

The Scot did concede that Roberto Mancini's City side now held the advantage over them.

He said: "Advantage to them [City], of course We had the opportunity – we were playing tonight, they played last night; they won theirs, we lost ours.

"So its advantage to them."

The two Manchester sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday for an FA Cup Third Round tie.