Fergie expects tight finish

United boss urges side to keep pressure on Arsenal

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 29th February 2008

Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United manager

Ferguson: Ready for tough run-in

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Sir Alex Ferguson believes the Premier League title race could go right down to the wire.

Manchester United moved to within three points of Arsenal with a 5-1 demolition of Newcastle last week and Ferguson has urged his side to keep the pressure on at the top.

But he does not expect either United or Arsenal to go through the rest of the season without slipping up at all, and he is also wary of the threat posed by third-placed Chelsea.

Ferguson told Sky Sports News: "We've been in a good spell of form and we need to keep that going because the run-in is not easy.

"We're three points behind Arsenal and Chelsea are three points behind us.

"It's going to be nip and tuck. My view hasn't changed from last week. Points will be dropped and hopefully we don't drop as many as the rest."

Giggs concern

Ryan Giggs is set to be rested for this weekend's clash against Fulham but Ferguson has insisted he will be fit for the UEFA Champions League game against Lyon on Tuesday.

Ferguson explained: "He's got a little bit of a calf strain. It's nothing serious but there's no need to take the risk, with an important tie next week."

Ferguson has also issued upbeat bulletins on the fitness of long-term absentees Gary Neville, Mikael Silvestre and Ben Foster.

Asked how Neville had reacted to playing for the reserves, Ferguson replied: "Excellent. He's trained and he's on the right way, and Silvestre's also on the right way.

"Hopefully by the end of March we'll have a full squad.

"I would imagine Ben Foster will be in contention for the next reserve game. He's been back training for quite a while now.

"Nobody likes being injured for a long period obviously but he has shown a lot of determination and worked really hard."