Sir Alex Ferguson hit out at the quiet Old Trafford crowd and blasted Manchester United's "careless" performance in their win over Birmingham.Carlos Tevez's winning goal - with the striker finding Cristiano Ronaldo with an overhead kick before racing on to an inspired back-heeled return pass - was at odds with the rest of a mundane contest.

Tevez also hit the post on two occasions, although even this failed to lift a crowd which was almost silent on occasion, drawing a stinging rebuke from Ferguson.

"The crowd were dead," he remarked. "It was like a funeral out there.

"It was the quietest I have heard here for some time and the atmosphere today did not help us.

"There have been periods like that in the past. Some years ago, when we were dominant, the crowd came to be entertained.

"Sometimes we need them to get behind us. They can help produce the right performance but we did not get that today."

Instead, the flat atmosphere only induced more sloppiness from United ranks, which would have proved costly if Mikael Forssell had found the target with two late chances.

"It only takes a second to score and we made it difficult for ourselves. it was a careless performance," added the United boss.

"Our finishing was shoddy and by being as careless as as we did, we could have been embarrassed."

Ferguson admitted Tevez's strike was the one bright spot on an otherwise disappointing day, although his team do remain two points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

"It marvellous goal and I think Carlos will go on to get 20 now," said the Scot, who celebrated his 66th birthday on Monday.

"Once we are over the New Year period, we can have a look at where we are. But effectively, the season starts now and it could be nip and tuck right to the end."

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish was proud of his team's efforts, although that will not stop him trying to bring in some new faces during the transfer window.

"People said I was pitting my wits against Sir Alex Ferguson but it is like using a pop-gun to take on a machine gun," he said.

"Manchester United had £125million worth of talent on the pitch, so you have to be realistic, even though I felt we could get something out of the game.

"I am trying to add some new faces during the window because we are desperately short of bodies.

"We have gone into our fourth game this week with more or less the same players and we just cannot rotate the way Sir Alex can."

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