ALEX FERGUSON FEELS former Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson was the victim of poor timing during his ill-fated spell at Anfield.

As Ferguson’s Manchester United side prepare to face Hodgson’s West Brom at Old Trafford today, the Scot said Hodgson – who lasted just 31 games as Liverpool boss – was unfortunate during his time on Merseyside.

“Roy couldn’t win at Anfield,” Ferguson said. “There’s no question about that. Sometimes the timing is bad for certain jobs and that was bad timing for him. But you cannot dispute his credibility, his ability and the career he has had.”

On his own front, Ferguson is keen for his players to focus solely on their remaining 11 Premier League games, as they hope to overhaul Manchester City and retain their crown, despite a midweek Europa League defeat by Athletic Bilbao.

“The players know the challenge they face,” he said. “They have a great opportunity after the result last week against Spurs. It is an opportunity to kick on in the league and hopefully we’ll manage to do that.

“West Bromwich are in a bit of good form just now. They’ve won their last three, scored five against Wolves and beat Chelsea last weekend. We respect that. Roy Hodgson always has his teams well-organised and it will be the same on Sunday. We are at home and we expect to win our home games.”

The 3-2 defeat against Bilbao means United have won just once at home in Europe this season, an unconvincing 2-0 victory over Romanian side Otelul Galati. It leaves their Europa League hopes hanging by a thread and, to compound their misery, defender Chris Smalling’s stitches on a head wound came open during the match, leaving him in doubt for the encounter with West Brom.

Rio Ferdinand is set to return to the fold but Ferguson revealed his selection hinge on whether Smalling recovers in time to play.

“It was a very sapping game against Bilbao, a very good, end-to-end European game,” he said. ”We’ll have Paul Scholes, Nani and Rio Ferdinand available and we’ll need to make a few changes to get the freshness back in. We’ll make one or two changes.

“It depends on Chris Smalling. His stitches came open in the first half. We thought we’d patched them up at half-time but they came open again. It’s a possibility. I will maybe gamble with a couple on Sunday for Thursday’s game.”

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