Vidic encouraged by scrappy win

Nemanja Vidic believes rising above the recent results of his club's fiercest competitors will enable Manchester United to sketch a much more acceptable picture by the middle of May. During the last round of Premier League matches, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Arsenal all drew, while United collected maximum points. The Red Devils' 2-1 win over Southampton at Old Trafford on Wednesday was not clear cut for the hosts, and even the most rose-tinted view of proceedings confirmed the Saints as unfortunate not to pocket a share of the spoils. Sometimes you have to show your character when things are not happening. Sometimes you have games where you just have to win. Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United captain As the veteran of four campaigns that have seen United hoist the league trophy, United captain Vidic accepts there have to be days when the only positive is the most important one - victory. "Sometimes you have to show your character when things are not happening," Vidic said. "Sometimes you have games where you just have to win. All the other teams drew their games, so we are in a good position now." There are two schools of thought about this latest success, which re-established United's seven-point lead on Manchester City: One is that such good luck and defensive frailty cannot last forever. The other is if United emerge from a performance like that with their status enhanced, there is no chance of them being denied a record-extending 20th championship. Evidently, within the Old Trafford camp, the latter view holds sway, not that the title is being taken for granted. "Winning games is important at this stage of the season," said Vidic. "But we have to forget what has gone and focus on the next games. Nothing is finished yet." From FIFA