Sir Alex Accepts City Challenge

Sir Alex is ready to accept the gauntlet thrown down by Manchester City, regardless of whether the Reds end up winning the title on Sunday.

The manager realises that the Blues will be big spenders again this summer and could pose an even stiffer test next term, particularly if the psychological barrier of not lifting the title since 1968 has been removed. However, there is confidence that United will continue to compete for the top prizes.

“Certainly Manchester City are not going away,” he admitted. “That’s for sure. But the great thing about this club is the in-bred discipline about what’s needed to win the league.

“I think that’s shown itself this season again. 19 points [clear of third-placed Arsenal] is a big margin and it shows United and City are the two best teams this season obviously. City are not going to go away, with the money they have got. They will buy more players for sure this year. But they can only buy so many and keep the balance for so long before they disrupt things.

“We’ve got our own ideas about where we’re going in the summer. I think we’ll be ready for the challenge. No matter whether it’s as champions or runners-up, we’ll be ready for it.”

Although reluctant to go into depth about where things may have gone wrong this term, Sir Alex did concede that the defence had an unsettled look due to injuries and introducing an inexperienced David De Gea behind them.

“My biggest job this season has been being able to manage the back-four. One of the biggest problems was bringing in a young goalkeeper but it was a risk worth taking. But only when Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand started playing regularly did our results become consistent. That’s the story of our season really.

“We know how to challenge and accept a challenge. It’s important we know we’ve got a challenge and that’s a good thing. There are a lot of young players in the club who have been terrific this season. If we win it, or not, we know we’ve got a job to do.”