Ferguson: Stronger league ´a battle´

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is not concerned about the amount of points his side has dropped this season.

Like fellow title contenders Chelsea and Arsenal, the Red Devils have not been able to exert the same dominance over the English Premier League as they have in past seasons.

And with the title race still wide open heading into the second half of the season, Ferguson believes a handful of clubs, including his own, are capable of holding the Premiership trophy aloft come May.

“I think we’ve all dropped points and I think I said that a few weeks ago, that if somebody went on a run they’d certainly seal the league for themselves,” Ferguson said.

“But I think with the nature of the league a lot of points are going to be dropped because it is a more competitive league, it’s a stronger league and it’s going to be a battle.”

“It’s going to be a good team that’s going to get relegated this year and that’s an indication of how strong this league is.”

Manchester United led the Premier League at Christmas for the first time in three seasons, and are level on 41 points with Manchester City at the head of the table.

Ferguson believes it will take at least double that to win the league this season.

“I was trying to look at that over the last few days and if you look at the top performances over the last decade have been ourselves and Chelsea, who had over ninety points,” Ferguson said.

“I don’t think it will be anywhere near that, probably eighty-two or eighty-three. You know I think you’ll need to get to eighty-two, eighty-three to win it.”