By Cathal Dervan

Manchester United have pulled off the transfer coup of the season after boss Alex Ferguson confirmed that former Celtic star Henrik Larsson is to join the red Devils on a three-month loan deal when the transfer window opens in January.

Larsson, currently with Swedish side Helsingborgs after he quit Barcelona in the summer, is to play in England while his domestic season is shut down.

He is available for Champions League, FA Cup and Premiership duty and is expected to feature in up to 13 games for the English league leaders including difficult trips to Arsenal and Liverpool.

“Adding Henrik to our squad improves our chances of winning things,” said Ferguson. “When it gets down to the last few months of the season, experience and nerve counts for a lot.

“In those situations, we look to Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Now we also have Henrik. He has maturity and intelligence and he can play anywhere across the front line and I am sure he can help us change things at a very important part of the season.

“We won’t be going for any other strikers now. We have exhausted all avenues and this, without doubt, is the best option.”

Larsson scored 242 goals in 315 appearances during seven highly successful years at Celtic and is a huge addition to the United squad. “I have known about Henrik for a long time,” added Ferguson.

“He is a great character and has a fantastic pedigree. I watched him in the Champions League final and he changed things around completely that night. I have no doubt he can do it in the Premiership.”

The 35-year-old former Barcelona and Celtic forward will travel to England to watch United’s match against West Ham at Upton Park on December 17 and will then train for a week, go back to Sweden for Christmas and be eligible to play for the Red Devils after January 1.

Ferguson said, “I have always admired him. I made a move for him when he was at Celtic but then they managed to persuade him to stay.

“He is a great player. It is a terrific bit of business for us. We are bringing someone in who can change a game. When you think back to the Champions League final he was the one who won it for Barcelona when he came on.

“He can play wide right, wide left or up front. I am really happy we have got him. I would have liked to have signed him long ago but I knew he wanted to go to Barcelona and then he went home.”

Larsson told a press conference at Helsingborg, “It’s a very fun thing to contribute at such a late stage in my career.

“Alex Ferguson called me last night and greeted me to Manchester United. We spoke a little about a match and how it looked like with Christmas and the New Year. They have been after me before, after the first or second season with Celtic. It feels nice to come and play for such a big club.

“I probably won’t play every match from the start, but for me it feels like a very fun thing to contribute at such a late stage in my career. My family are okay with it.”

Larsson is excited at the prospect of playing alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney at old Trafford. “Rooney is an amazing talent. He has the ability to be the best player in the world,” Larsson said.

“I know the players at Manchester United. They are really good players. I have played against many of them, so it’s not a new thing. I hope the situation will be easier, knowing the faces and names.

“I will go over there to play as much as possible, but I have no idea of how Ferguson wants to use me. We will see how much playing time there will be. Am I a back-up? Yes, at the beginning. Then you will see what I can contribute and how things are going.”

Larsson could have gone back to Celtic, but Bhoys manager Gordon Strachan insisted he was right to resist an emotional return to Parkhead.

“Would going for Larsson ever have crossed my mind? Of course it would have but the feedback coming back was that was it,” Strachan said.

“After that we didn’t want to put anybody under any pressure. It wouldn’t have been a wise decision, for both parties. To be honest I don’t know Henrik all that well but I think he’s right, at this stage, not to retrace his steps. That way he stays as a living legend here.”

Hero Boruc

POLISH keeper Artur Boruc was the hero with a last minute save from Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson as the Bhoys stretched their lead at the top of the Scottish table to a whopping 16 points with a 1-0 victory over the Dons on Saturday.

Fellow Poland international Maciej Zurawski scored the only goal late on, but it was Boruc’s save that had manager Gordon Strachan buzzing afterwards.

“It was a world-class save. It would have been a stunner for them to have scored in the last minute. I thought that as long as Aberdeen didn’t score then we would win the game,” Strachan said.

“They didn’t have any attempts at goal until the last minute so that was good. We are not at our bright and bubbly best at the moment, but I thought our discipline and the way we tried to play was good. But it was difficult because they were so well organized.

“I would like to win games earlier than we are doing but we are not deadly enough in front of goal at the minute and we just have to grind out results like that. Teams like Manchester United and us have the same problem.

“We have to win games playing super football but you have to give credit to other teams for doing their homework.”

Meanwhile, Parkhead defender Paul Telfer has confirmed that he will quit the club when his contract expires in the summer as his family has failed to settle in Scotland.

“My contract is up and even if there was an offer of another year I won’t be staying,” Telfer said.

“I feel fit enough to play on, but my family couldn’t settle and are already back down south, so if a club came in I’d look at that.”

Meanwhile, Celtic have confirmed their interest in Arsenal youngster Anthony Stokes, currently on loan at Scottish Premier side Falkirk but due to go back to London at the start of the new year.

Bhoys chief scout Ray Clarke said, “What we said to the Celtic first-team management was that we would watch Anthony Stokes on four or five occasions and then make our decision.

“To be fair to the lad, we’ve just about done that, and my understanding is we’ll maybe have one more good look at him in action. Once the Champions League group campaign is over we’ll sit down on all our activities and the manager will decide the way ahead.”

Derry Tops

DERRY City performed their own Lazarus trick not once, not twice but three times at Lansdowne Road on Sunday to claim the top prize in an enthralling 4-3 Carlsberg FAI Cup final win over St. Patrick’s Athletic.

The final soccer match at Lansdowne Road before the ground is redeveloped was an absolute cracker despite the gale force winds as Derry came from behind three times before snatching victory in extra time.

The win was a fitting send off for manager Stephen Kenny, who will now concentrate on his new job as boss of Scottish side Dunfermline.

Kenny couldn’t praise his squad enough after the dramatic win. “All credit to our players, they came back and it’s not the first time they’ve done that this season. It was a classic final; normally they finish 1-0 but it was great to be part of today’s game,” Kenny said.

“Pats were fantastic and I thought the game was getting away from us when we conceded the penalty in the second half. It’s tremendous, to come back three times, the players deserve huge credit. St. Pats were terrific, it was a classic final, 4-3 after extra time, normally they’re 1-0 or so. To have a final of this magnitude and to be part of it, it’s phenomenal.

“I thought it was getting away from us, 2-1 down with four or five minutes to go. But this team has such belief. We won the League Cup against Shelbourne when we were down to nine men. That gives you an indication of the sort of spirit in this club.”

Kenny was also wholesome in his praise of captain Peter Hutton.

“It’s fitting that Peter Hutton lifts the trophy, he’s been inspirational all season,” he said. “He was man of the match today, but he’s been man of the bloody season as far as I’m concerned.”

Hutton revealed, “It’s absolutely unbelievable, where do you start with a game like that? It’s gutting for St. Pats because I think both teams deserve loads of credit to play in such terrible conditions, both teams tried to play football. There can only be one winner and fortunately that was us.

“It’s very deserving that we finish the season on such a high, that’s the spirit we’ve had all season. We had to come back three times and showed the resilience in the side and never-say die attitude and that’s what it’s all about.”

St. Patrick’s Athletic manager John McDonnell took little comfort from the classic nature of the game. “I’m sure for the neutral it was a classic but that’s no consolation for us. It’s desperately disappointing to have led three times and to give away the goals we did from set pieces.

“They were stronger than us at the end, but I’m very proud of the players, they gave absolutely everything.”

Soccer Shorts

KEVIN Doyle’s remarkable season continued when he moved to the top of the Premiership scorers’ charts with his eighth goal of the season as Reading overcame Bolton Wanderers at the Madejski Stadium. Doyle is now joint-top scorer in

the top flight, alongside Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Nwankwo Kanu of Portsmouth . . .

THE FAI have come in for some heavy criticism after raising their ticket prices for the move to Croke Park next year, with the cheapest ticket for the Euro qualifiers costing ¤50. Tickets on the lower tiers of the main stands are ¤70 with a limited number of premium admissions costing ¤85 . . .

HAMILTON’S Scottish born youngster Jamie McCarthy, who declared for Ireland last week, has been linked with a move to Liverpool with scouts from Manchester United and Barcelona also monitoring his form . . .

WOLVES boss Mick McCarthy hasn’t given up on signing Cork City winger Rory O’Donovan despite the Leesiders’ refusal to let him go on trial at Molineux . . .

IPSWICH Town are still interested in Cork City rebel George O’Callaghan and may move for the player when the transfer window opens in January . . .

MARK Kinsella, Pat Fenlon and Celtic youth team coach Willie McStay have all been linked with the Derry City managerial vacancy.