If the past couple of months have taught us anything, it’s that you can’t count your chickens. On the morning of the Liverpool game we were seven points clear with a game in hand, looking to just coast our way until the end of the season.
Everything changed dramatically that day though and we’ve been walking on egg shells every since, contemplating the possibility of throwing our title away and giving it to Liverpool, of all clubs!
Following our 2-0 victory over Portsmouth which saw us go three points clear at the top with a game in hand, Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his mixed feelings.
“In the first half, you saw some of the best football you’ll see all season,” said Ferguson. “It was absolutely fantastic, but we missed about four or five chances, so instead of going in 5-0 up at half time, we were 1-0 up and made it difficult for ourselves. That only encourages your opponents and they kept digging in and got two opportunities in the second half, and I was saying to myself, ‘We’re going to throw this away’. It can be so embarrassing. You’re talking about throwing a game away when you should have been five or six up. Fortunately, Michael Carrick’s come on, made a fantastic run and a good finish to kill the game off.”
Ferguson is pleased with our improved position but wants to see more consistent football from the team.
“We’re in a better position today than we were yesterday morning, that’s for sure,” he added. “Having seen that second half and how we got so casual, I’m not taking anything for granted. We’ve got to put our foot down all the time. I don’t even consider leeway in this situation. I don’t think we have a leeway unless we keep performing properly.”
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