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Sir Alex not writing off the title
30/12/05 12:37 PM
Sir Alex Still Needs United When He's Sixty-Four
Sir Alex Ferguson has not yet written off United’s title hopes
despite the team dropping two more precious points against Birmingham
on Wednesday, while Chelsea continued their relentless march forward
with a late 1-0 win over Man City.
The Reds face Bolton on New Year’s Eve before one final trip to Highbury
to play Arsenal to kick-start 2006.
United received a defensive boost ahead of the two games with the return of
Wes Brown and Mikael Silvestre, but Louis Saha and Alan Smith remain
doubtful with a cold and chest infection.
Sir Alex, who turns 64 on Saturday, insists his passion for the job
is as strong as ever and that he is enjoying watching his maturing team
play with growing confidence – and he refuses to give up on the title
despite the 11 points that seperate his and Jose Mourinho’s teams.
Is it impossible to win the Premiership after drawing with Birmingham?
“I don’t think that at all," he replied forcefully.
"I think we played some very good football that night.
Some of our attacking play was brilliant.
”Birmingham did really well in turning it almost into a cup-tie.
The pitch was lively, they pressed the ball and were very determined.
Steve Bruce will be hoping for plenty more performances like that.
If they do they'll have no problems staying up."
Chelsea have developed a talent - disheartening to their rivals -
to snatch late goals and win 1-0.
"You get these spells when you’re at the top," Sir Alex says.
"We had a period in 1999 when we were scoring late goals
and people were saying we were lucky. It’s no different now.
"We want to be the nearest to them so that, if they do lose,
we will be there to capitalise.
"I don’t forget about Chelsea, I can’t forget about them.
I keep hoping they do drop points. When I heard they scored late on,
it compounded our disappointment on the night.
"But we have to keep going. We concentrate on what we can do.
The form is good and the confidence is back in the team
and we are playing some good football.
”I think the team is maturing all the time. I can’t put a date on
[when it will all come together]. I think we are getting better all the time.
I’m enjoying watching the team.”
Sir Alex mentioned in his programme notes for the Bolton game that
he is determined to carry on as manager until “this club is back on track”.
Asked what he meant by that, he responded: ”Back on track means
the maturity of this team."
The reporter countered, “Who has to mature because the team isn’t
exactly young, is it? There’s only Rooney and Ronaldo under 25."
"It’s younger than most teams," Sir Alex retorted.
"And does Darren Fletcher not count? Kieran Richardson?
Ji-Sung Park, who has just arrived at the club?”
The average age of a team to win the European Cup is 29 or 30.”
The average age of United’s starting eleven against Birmingham was 25.
”It’s a matter of new players coming together as well,” the Reds boss added.
Sir Alex turns 64 on New Year’s Eve, but his passion for the job
remains undiminished.
”It doesn’t get harder to get up in the mornings,” he said.
“Not at all, not for me. I was up at five this morning.
I was at work at 6:25. I intended to go to the gym but I bottled it.
I saw that desk and thought ‘Jesus Christ, I’ve got to get through
all this work again’. That’s the killer, the desk.
”I know people older than me up in Scotland that are up at six
every morning and they’ve been doing it all their life.
You’ve got to enjoy your job. And I feel good.
I don’t how many times I have to say that. I feel fine. How do I look?”
Bolton will not be in too charitable a mood for Sir Alex,
who expects a stubborn but talented opponent.
“It should be a terrific game,” he said. “Bolton have done very well
again this season. Since Sam Allardyce has been there they have
progressed every year. They’re in the last 32 of the Uefa Cup,
which is phenomenal for the club. A few years ago they were in the
first division. They’ve come a long way.
”A lot of people keep talking about the way Bolton play,
saying that it’s difficult to play against. I don’t think
there is anything wrong with it. Everyone finds their own way of
playing football to suit the players they have got.
You have to cope with that. But I don’t think they are any more difficult
an opponent than Chelsea, Arsenal or anyone else.
”They’re a good team with a lot of experienced players in their team
– that’s what Sam has done well.”
Report by Ben Hibbs.
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