Sir Alex Ferguson was frustrated his Manchester United players passed up the opportunity to overhaul leaders Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title (Chelsea 10/11 Man United 5/2 Premier League – Outright).

The champions, reduced to 10 men late on when Darren Fletcher received a second yellow card, came back to rescue a point after Birmingham defender Scott Dann put through his own net in one of only two top-flight fixtures to survive the cold snap.

Cameron Jerome’s first-half opener went against the run of play and Ferguson was relieved United had not left empty-handed.

However, with Arsenal (4/1 Premier League – Outright) also only managing a point at home to Everton, the Scot felt it was an opportunity missed.

He told MUTV: “It’s not really a point gained, but we can’t argue with the result.”

He added: “We were down to 10 men for the last part of the game, but in the first half we played absolutely brilliantly and dominated the match. It was a travesty to go in 1-0 down after they scored with their first attack.

“It was a sickener but it’s important not to let your head go down. We kept battling away and deserved a point.”