Will Power

Friday, April 1, 2011

Neville: Reds Set For Big Month

Gary Neville believes this April could be the biggest month he has known in all his time with United.

The recently-retired defender is fully aware that the coming weeks will make or break the campaign for his friends and former team-mates. Speaking on MUTV's Live at the Red Cafe, Neville stated the league title is the priority but he's confident the Reds can continue to compete on three fronts with key clashes coming up against Chelsea in the Champions League and Manchester City in the FA Cup.

When asked what Sir Alex Ferguson will be doing to maintain his squad as the games come thick and fast, he replied: "I think it's just simple things, there's no complication. Keep the players fit, make sure they're fresh and not over-trained, make sure they're prepared.

"You really have got games now every weekend and midweek - it's probably as big a month as I've seen in my 20 years here when you look at the matches coming up in the next four or five weeks and the scale of them. From that perspective, it's just about making sure the preparations are the same and keeping the players fit and you don't get sendings off. So discipline is important - they're the ones out of your control a little bit as the manager needs his full squad at this time of the season."

United are back in action on Saturday with a tough trip to West Ham. Victory there could extend the Reds' lead at the league summit to eight points, depending on rivals' results.

"I think it probably is Chelsea and Arsenal [who are the threats]," added Neville. "Arsenal had a couple of bad results when they could've put some pressure on us, particularly in the week we lost to Chelsea and Liverpool. But it is there for us and we've got so close. It is the run-in.

"I think Saturday's a big one to be honest with you, coming back from the internationals and playing away to West Ham with a lunchtime kick-off. That's got a danger to it. That's good in some ways though because the lads have been there before. It's really, really important, they'll know it's a danger game. We've seen those times and how difficult those games are. I think we'll be ready for it."

The ex-United captain concedes winning the title back is top of his wish-list as the thought of winning all three competitions will not even be entering the players' minds.

"You never know with the Treble," he explained. "If you get past the FA Cup final on the Saturday, you think it's here now but you never think to win a Treble. It doesn't enter your thinking as a player. With all the matches ahead of us, you haven't got time to think about [what might happen] in six weeks' time.

"I would love to see us win the league as that's our bread and butter but the cups are always a bonus and the Champions League is massive and, when the games come around, you always want to win them. But let's just win that championship first."

United's massive month
2 Apr West Ham (A) - Premier League

6 Apr Chelsea (A) - Champions League

9 Apr Fulham (H) - Premier League

12 Apr Chelsea (H) - Champions League

16 Apr Man City (N) - FA Cup

19 Apr Newcastle (A) - Premier League

23 Apr Everton (H) - Premier League

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