Ferdinand: Still A Lot To Play For

Rio Ferdinand insists United's celebrations at the final whistle at Blackburn on Monday night were by no means a sign that the Reds think the title is won.

The 2-0 victory at Ewood Park brought to an end a disappointing run of results against Rovers on their own patch and in turn gave Sir Alex's men a five-point lead over rivals Manchester City at the Barclays Premier League summit. Many now believe United are now a sure bet for title no.20, but Ferdinand maintains that talk of another championship crown already being in the bag is far too premature.

[The celebrations at Blackburn] were blown out of all proportion," he told ManUtd.com. "Since I have been at the club, for the last 10 years, it has been a hard place to go. We have not had good results there and we wanted to put that right and make sure we got a good result.

"We are in the position we would like to be in at this stage of the season but it is not over, and I don't think it is a time that says we won the league. Those celebrations weren't because we thought it was over, it was because we got a good result at a place where, a couple of years ago, they helped stop us winning the league. So it was nice to get one back over them.

"There is still a lot of football to be played between now and the end of the season, when the trophies are handed out," he added. "We have to make sure we apply ourselves in the right way for every game. If we do that, put in the performances and get the results we want, we will hopefully be lifting the trophy at the end of the season."

Since the January defeat at Newcastle, United have taken 31 points from a possible 33as the momentum has swung back towards the red half of Manchester. Nevertheless, Ferdinand is refusing to take anything for granted.

"We know it can change very quickly as well, from being on a great run to having a dip. We have been there before," he said. "The only thing on our minds is to keep winning each game and not look beyond that. It is a cliché and it is boring, but that is the way it is. It is quite simple. Black and white.

"The next game is the most important one. You just have to keep ticking off the fixtures and winning games."

Next up for Sir Alex's men is an Easter Sunday clash with Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford, who are equally desperate for points but for different reasons.

"Everyone is saying our run-in looks easy, but our next three games [QPR, Wigan, Villa] are against teams who are fighting to stay in the Premier League, so this talk of easy games goes out of the window," continues Rio.

"We know QPR have some players who can be potential matchwinners and if we are not on our game, they have the potential to beat us. At this stage of the season there are no gimmes. If we want the result, we will have to go out and earn it."

Rio was talking to ManUtd.com, PA Sport and BBC Radio.