Sir Alex Ferguson's 'distressing' week ended with a familiar roller-coaster ride to victory as Manchester United clambered back to the Premiership summit.

Goals from Louis Saha, Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy proved enough to overcome a Southampton side which contributed fully to a pulsating encounter and would rightly claim to be unfortunate not to have grabbed a point.

In atrocious conditions, Kevin Phillips scored twice for Gordon Strachan's men but failed by inches to complete a hat-trick in the frenzied final stages as Ferguson briefly got the chance to put his legal dispute with major shareholder John Magnier to the back of his mind.

On the evidence of the previous six days any battle between Ferguson and Magnier for the hearts and minds of the Old Trafford faithful was akin to Rock of Gibraltar lining up against an old selling plater.

The only members of a Premiership record crowd that did not stand when the cry went up to do so 'if you love Fergie' were the Southampton fans squeezed into the corner of the ground.

Chants alternated between devotion for the manager and hatred of the Irish horse-racing tycoon with whom Ferguson is waging war.

Despite the high passions, even chief executive David Gill acknowledges an end to the dispute would be desirable for all sides, although quite who will tell Ferguson this remains to be seen.

No matter what allegations are slung in Ferguson's direction, the loyalty of the supporters will seemingly never waver - too many remember the dark days before the Scot arrived for that.

And, while not all his recent signings could constitute a success, the presence of Ruud van Nistelrooy on the pitch just 48 hours after signing a new five-year contract is evidence of the standard of player Ferguson can attract.

In the major rebuilding process he has instigated over the past six months, Saha is the newest and most expensive recruit.

The Frenchman may not have won many friends outside Old Trafford for the controversial way he ensured his move from Fulham went through but his current team-mates appreciated it.

And the effort and skill he produced on a rain-sodden pitch proved just how badly he wants to make an impact.

Only the churlish would deny him a debut goal as his 18th-minute free-kick was on target, albeit headed into the other corner when it flicked off Phillips and into the net.

Saha was then twice involved in United's mesmeric second that started with a throw-in from O'Shea to the former Fulham man, then featured first-time passes to Roy Keane, Van Nistelrooy and Saha again before the new forward's shot rebounded off Antti Niemi into Scholes' path.

For a moment, it looked like being a stroll for the home side but within a minute, Southampton had pulled one back when Phillips' shot flicked off Ormerod to leave Tim Howard stranded.

It was the least Gordon Strachan's side deserved for an industrious performance which could easily have brought them more goals.

Jason Dodd was narrowly wide when he robbed Scholes then tried to beat Howard with an audacious chip and before that, Rory Delap had seen his effort saved by United's American keeper after Graeme le Saux had played him in.

If Phillips' contribution to two of the first three goals had been questionable, he left no room for debate eight minutes after the re-start when he unleashed a thunderous 30-yard drive that arrowed past Howard.

Had Ormerod spotted the former Sunderland man's charge into the box when he swooped to take advantage of hesitation between Wes Brown and Quinton Fortune, the Saints would probably have been celebrating a famous win.

Instead, Ormerod opted to go it alone and allowed Brown to slide in with a perfectly-timed tackle.

It proved to be a decisive error of judgement as United immediately advanced to the other end and took the lead once more.

There was more than a hint of controversy over the goal as referee Graham Barber initially looked like waving play on when Fabrice Fernandes blocked Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick.

His assistant decided the Frenchman had handled and though the incident seemed to occur inside the area, after much debate another free-kick was eventually awarded.

Southampton failed to clear their lines and when Brown's shot was blocked, Van Nistelrooy steered home from close range.

The visitors might still have grabbed a deserved draw but Howard saved brilliantly from Danny Higginbotham and Phillips failed narrowly to get on the end of a low cross from substitute James Beattie.

Teams:

Man Utd: Howard, O'Shea, Brown, Silvestre, Fortune, Ronaldo (Butt 90), Phil Neville, Keane, Scholes, Saha (Fletcher 70), van Nistelrooy.

Subs Not Used: Carroll, Kleberson, Forlan.

Goals: Saha 18, Scholes 37, van Nistelrooy 61.

Southampton: Niemi, Dodd, Hall, Higginbotham, Le Saux (Kenton 80), Anders Svensson, Delap, Telfer, Fernandes (Pahars 67), Phillips, Ormerod (Beattie 67).

Subs Not Used: Smith, Folly.

Booked: Higginbotham, Ormerod.

Goals: Phillips 38, 53.

Att: 67,758

Ref: G Barber (Hertfordshire).