It was a real battle - Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson demanded an improvement from his Manchester United side despite watching them stay top of the Barclays Premiership after a 2-1 win at Watford.

Goals from Mikael Silvestre and Ryan Giggs - either side of Damien Francis' equaliser for the home team - maintained United's 100% start to the campaign.

"Watford make it a real battle for you," Ferguson told MUTV. "But when we had chances to counter-attack, we should have kept the ball better. We're normally good at that, but that quality deserted us in these moments."

Ferguson - who revealed the club had made no further progress in their attempts to sign England midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich - was more pleased with the way his team stood up to the physical challenge posed by Adrian Boothroyd's team.

The United defence held firm in the face of a sustained aerial bombardment by Watford, who won several free-kicks and throw-ins in dangerous areas.

"You saw another side to us," added Ferguson. "We realise we had to battle to win the points, and the players can take credit for that.

"We came to a difficult place, showed our mettle and got our rewards from it. The younger players are improving in the physical and mental side of the game."