Mourinho gives United's title hopes the bird

JOSE MOURINHO claims he is more concerned by a potential outbreak of bird flu than Manchester United's Premiership title challenge.

United's eight-match winning run has slashed Chelsea's lead to seven points, but Mourinho insists he is happy with his team's position.

Instead, the Chelsea manager has suffered greater anxiety by the discovery that the dead swan washed-up in Scotland was carrying the deadly bird-flu virus.

"For me pressure is bird flu. I'm serious. I'm feeling a lot of pressure with the problem in Scotland," he said.

"It's not fun and I'm more scared of it than football. Football is nothing compared with life. For me bird flu is the drama of the last few days. I'll have to buy a mask."

He added: "For me pressure depends on the individual. If you ask Claude Makelele if he feels pressure he will say no because he's played for Real Madrid and won championships.

"If you ask a young player who has never been involved in this situation and who has never been a champion before, maybe the answer is different."

United's late charge has breathed new life into the title race but just six games remain and although Mourinho is disappointed Chelsea have seen their lead reduced by a dip in away form, he insists it is Ferguson who should be feeling the pressure.

"United have had a very good run. Eight consecutive victories? That's fantastic. And I would prefer to have 15 points more than seven," he said.

"But I would always prefer to have more points. To say I'm concerned is not correct. I'm not happy with the points we dropped but concerned is the correct word for United. I think they should be very concerned by the gap.

"United people will watch Chelsea against West Ham with a very high heartbeat. But we can be very calm and cool when we watch United play Arsenal, or even don't watch it at all, because our future depends on our own results."

Mourinho admits Chelsea's recent away form has been disappointing. But with three of their remaining six outings - including tomorrow's West Ham clash, he is confident they will retain the title.

"Our bad results for the last few matches have been away, not at home, and if we win all our home matches we're champions.

"Our situation is very good. Over the course of the season the best team wins. You can't have any complaints. "United are on a fantastic run but why do Chelsea have a seven-point lead? Because we have also had a very important run."