Fergie: we must be ready to pounce on any Chelsea slip-up
United, who host West Brom on St Stephen’s Day, enter the festive schedule nine points behind Chelsea and Ferguson knows his side must be ready to pounce on any slip by the Barclays Premiership champions.
“December is an important month. If you can get into a challenging position by the end of it, you know you have a real chance,” he said.
“There is one spell of three games in five days which gives you no respite in terms of trying to keep the freshness in your squad. Hopefully, we can get through this period and stay within a few points of Chelsea.”
England stars Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard may be the cream of the current Premiership midfielders but Ferguson has reminded the duo that Paul Scholes, who has struck a rich vein of form, has been producing the goods for over a decade.
“What Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are doing at the moment is fantastic but Paul’s record goes back 11 years, during which time he has scored 130 goals. That’s phenomenal.
“If Lampard and Gerrard last that length of time they are truly great players, but I’m glad to have Paul. He’s such an intelligent footballer you could play him anywhere.
“He did not have a great start to the season but his confidence started to come back about five or six weeks ago and now we are starting to see his real form again.”
Meanwhile Gary Neville is eager to fill one glaring gap in his bulging trophy cabinet by adding a Carling Cup winner’s medal to his vast collection.
Apart from 77 England caps, Neville can also boast six Premiership titles, three FA Cups and a Champions League medal.
What the 30-year-old does not have is a League Cup victory, although he is in good company.
United’s sole success in the competition came in 1992, just a few months before Neville made his first team bow against Torpedo Moscow.
The nearest he came was three seasons ago when Liverpool beat United at the Millennium Stadium.
But, with most of the big guns out of this season’s competition, it may be the best opportunity Neville will have of completing his domestic medal set.
And, while the League Cup would hardly be adequate compensation for crashing out of the Champions League at the group stage, for new United skipper Neville, it would be a triumph to savour.
“People will point to the fact it is probably the lesser of the trophies, but the League Cup is a high priority this season, both for me personally and the club,” said Neville.
“It is a competition I’ve never won, so I’d like to win it for that reason alone. I realise as captain I would lift the trophy but I am more interested in the team winning something.
“It is strange but it is a competition which just seems to have eluded me throughout the last 10 years.
“We got to the final three seasons ago and couldn’t quite do it and we got pipped at the post by Chelsea in the semis last year.
“Hopefully, we can get one stage further this season and go on and finish the job.”
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