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Larsson just what we needed: Fergie

MANAGER Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced 10 weeks of Henrik Larsson will be enough to help Manchester United seize the Premiership title from Chelsea's grasp.

The former Sweden international is spending a week at United's Carrington training base prior to his arrival on January 2 for an extended loan spell from his hometown club Helsingborg.

Although it seems inconceivable Ferguson would just wave Larsson goodbye when the deal expires on March 12 if the team were still heavily involved in the battle for silverware on the European and domestic fronts, both parties continue to insist that is exactly what will happen.

Ferguson has admitted the situation is not entirely ideal but the Red Devils chief believes Larsson can have such a major impact during the 13 matches he will be around, his exit will not be a disaster.

"We know Henrik is only here for a short period but it could be the most important short period in this club's season," said Ferguson.

"The timing is difficult but we have to be fair to Helsingborg. We don't want to intrude on their ambitions.

"Hopefully, by the time he does leave us, the job will have been done in terms of keeping us at the sharp end of all the competitions."

Specifically, Ferguson is hoping the 35-year-old can bring a more clinical edge to United's strikeforce over the coming weeks.

Having forcibly expressed his fears about a recurring failure to take chances on numerous occasions recently, Ferguson's words proved to be chillingly accurate at West Ham on Sunday when United suffered their first away defeat of the Premiership campaign.

The unexpected slip allowed Chelsea to move within two points of the leaders ahead of the packed festive programme and Ferguson accepts the finishing flaw must be eradicated.

"The most important thing about Henrik is that he has a tremendous goal instinct," he said.

"It has always been there and it has carried him right through his career.

"Some of the football we are playing at the moment is very good but we are missing chances, as we did on Sunday. Hopefully, the experience of Henrik will be decisive for us."

It is a measure of the esteem with which Larsson is held within the wider footballing world that virtually no-one has questioned why Ferguson would want to bring in a player of such advancing years six months after he effectively called time on a top-level career by quitting Barcelona for his homeland.

In confirming top scorer Louis Saha had a lucrative four-year contract extension until 2010, Ferguson is clearly looking towards the future as well as the present, which, in Larsson has brought a sense of excitement to the star-studded United dressing room.

"Henrik has created a buzz around the dressing room, there is no question about that," he said.

"When we announced it, a few of the players came to me and said 'That was a good one, where did you get that one from'. They were surprised at the suddenness and the secrecy of it.

"He has come at a good time. It looks as though the championship race is going to go the whole road. Players like Henrik will only help us with that."

Larsson cannot be registered for the New Year's Day clash with Newcastle, so he will almost certainly make his debut in the following week's FA Cup tie against Aston Villa, now managed by his former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill.

It will be the start of a minimum 13-match stint which includes Premiership visits to Arsenal and Liverpool, all FA Cup ties up to the quarter-final stage, plus the two-legged Champions League clash with Lille.