Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Manchester City to prepare for a renewed threat from Manchester United next term – even if the Premier League trophy heads across town on Sunday.
The Scot has admitted United have been left hoping for City to do “something stupid” to allow them to retain their crown and clinch a 20th title.
It seems impossible given QPR’s chronic away record, even though they are desperate to claim a point at the Etihad Stadium that will ensure top flight survival.
Ferguson insists the analysis of the season will not begin until Monday. However, he is not planning for a lengthy stay in City’s shadow. “We are not going away, that’s for sure,” said Ferguson. “We know we have a challenge. The important thing is to know you have one. This club has an inbred discipline about what is needed to win a league.”
It is the attitude that has made United so successful down the years and ensured the periods of transition that have caused many of their rivals to grind to a halt, has usually come with a trophy, if it has been noticed at all. And why, last summer, Ferguson bought David de Gea from Atletico Madrid when he knew the 21-year-old might need time to adapt to life in the Premier League.
That process was just made more difficult by the injuries that robbed United of so many defenders –with Chris Smalling the latest to be ruled out of Euro 2012 with groin trouble. “My biggest job this season was to be able to manage the back four,” added Ferguson. “Bringing a young goalkeeper in was a risk worth taking because, ability-wise, there is no question. But it was only when Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand started playing regularly that our results became more consistent.
“That is the story of our season really. But we have a lot of young players who will benefit no matter what happens. If we win, it will be better, but we know the job we have to do.”
Not that Ferguson is expecting the battle for supremacy to come from anywhere else. After years of tittering at the Old Firm domination of the Scottish Premier League and, more latterly, how Real Madrid and Barcelona have surged away from their rivals in La Liga, City and United are locked together at the top, 19 points clear of Arsenal in third. Ferguson expects City boss Roberto Mancini to strengthen further in the summer, with Lille’s Eden Hazard amongst the stars on both their radars.
“I have said City are not going away,” he said. “With the money they have to spend, they will buy more players this summer. But you can only buy so many and keep the balance for so long before it disrupts.”
Ferguson will maintain his policy of buying younger players, although the loss of Paul Pogba to Juventus is not a positive sign. However, the Scot feels that is the best way to combat City’s wealth, which they have come agonisingly close to managing this term.
“It would be our own fault,” said Ferguson, when asked about the potential failure this weekend. “But we will analyse things when it is all over. It is all swings and roundabouts when you analyse the whole season. The point is, we have our ideas about where we are going in the summer and whether it is as champions or runners up, we will be ready for the challenge.”
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