Manchester: Cristiano Ronaldo has been urged to inspire Manchester United to a winning start to 2008 after being absolved of the blame for the shock 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday.

Portuguese star Ronaldo missed a penalty by firing wide of goal while United led 1-0 at Upton Park against Alan Curbishley's team. A dramatic late fightback by the home side consigned United to defeat and ultimately cost them top spot in the Premiership going into the New Year.

Sir Alex Ferguson's team have the opportunity to bounce back at home to Birmingham on New Year's Day, however, and the club's Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher admits that United and Ronaldo have what it takes to respond in style against the struggling Midlands outfit.

Fletcher said, "To lose like we did against West Ham, late on in the game after battling so hard for most of the match, is disappointing. Ronaldo missed his penalty but that can happen and we were still in a comfortable position at 1-0 up.

"It's not Ronaldo that is to blame for the defeat, though. He has been fantastic for us and won us many games and many points this season. We were still in a winning position, so it's nothing to do with his penalty that lost us the game.

"But every time you drop points or lose, you have to pick yourself up and go on another winning run. We wanted to get through the Christmas period with maximum points and put pressure on the teams below us, but unfortunately that's not happened.

Source : PTI