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Premiership ours for the taking: Man Utd boss
LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United are the masters of their own destiny according to veteran boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
With a six point lead over English Premiership title rivals Chelsea and just seven games left to play ahead of Saturday's matches, Ferguson insisted that United just need to hold their nerve to claim their ninth Premiership crown under his stewardship.
"We have it in our hands now," said the Scot. "We just have to keep our nerve.
"The form of the team has been fantastic. I have no problem with that at all. It makes me feel as though we can go anywhere and get a result."
Although tricky trips to Everton and Manchester City remain, as well as the potentially-crucial encounter with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the final week of the campaign, it would be a major surprise if United were not to collect the points required to wrap up a first title in four years.
And for Ferguson, who kept his team in Italy for an extra two days after the Champions League defeat to Roma to cut down on travelling ahead of the south coast visit, now is a time for cool hearts and strong minds.
Ferguson is set to stick with the same side that started against Roma, meaning Louis Saha and Darren Fletcher will remain on the bench.
Patrice Evra returns to the squad after a knee injury, a welcome addition given the decisive encounter with Roma is looming at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
However, Gary Neville will be missing at least until the Premiership encounter with Sheffield United on April 17, ensuring he will miss both the Roma clash and the FA Cup semi-final with Watford next weekend.
Another man who will sit out the Champions League game is Paul Scholes, whose dismissal at the Stadio Olimpico for two yellow cards has earned criticism in some quarters.
Not from his manager though, who stands by his initial claim Roma defender Cristian Chivu played a major role in getting Scholes sent off.
And, although Scholes has already missed a total of seven matches in domestic suspensions this term, Ferguson has no intention of telling his midfield maestro to ease off in a bid to stay out of trouble.
"I don't look upon what happened to Paul on Wednesday and feel he let us down," said Ferguson. "He won the game for us against Blackburn last weekend with a magnificent performance. If he had stayed on the pitch on Wednesday, we might have won that game too.
"But these things happen. Paul is a very influential player for us and I am not going to turn round and tell him not to tackle."
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