29 April 2011
Sir Alex Ferguson believes the winning mentality ingrained in his Manchester United players will play a vital role in any end-of-season charge for silverware.
Over the last two decades, United have dominated English football and have rarely buckled under the pressure as they fight on more than one front to lift further trophies.
United are once again in the mix for honours as they bid to win the Premier League, as well as having foot in the Champions League final.
And Ferguson says the strong end to this campaign, that will be determined over the next fortnight, is a position his players are now comfortable finding themselves in.
The Manchester United manager said: “You hope the longer they are here it’s a natural integration of where the club has been over the last 15 years.
“It has its qualities. The club has fantastic profile, history and it’s got a good philosophy the way they play the game.
“They’ve had winning qualities going back all these years and are dominant now.
“It’s a natural thing. The personality of the manager is the most important thing in the football club.
“That personality involves the determination of your character, your philosophies.
“Personality is important for everyone who leads a unit, whether it be a football team or a business.
“That personality can inspire the players to be better and to believe and trust the qualities we are seeing in our team at the moment.”
Ferguson insists he will utilise his squad and rotate his players during the climax of the season.
The Scot has a fully-fit squad to choose from after Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Fletcher returned from spells on the treatment table.
He said: “For my experience over the years when we’ve been challenging, the way we have handled it has always been good.
“I have a strong squad and I can make a few changes if I want.
“We don’t do a great deal of training now. It’s recovery and getting the energy back in and keep the form.
“The good thing is Berbatov and Fletcher are also now back. Darren is a great addition to the squad at this time of the year having missed him for a couple of months. “There is a great freshness at the club. Ji-Sung Park, Antonio Valencia, Anderson and Fabio have come in, it does give you an extra boost regarding intensity and all the games these days, it does put you in a good position.”
Ferguson has also been boosted by the return of form of Wayne Rooney.
The England striker, who has scored 15 goals this campaign, has endured a troubled season but appears to have rediscovered his old form and is a different player to the disillusioned figure who tried to quit Old Trafford last October.
And after Rooney once again revealed he made a mistake by publicly questioning the strength and ambition of the club, Ferguson said: “He has been in fantastic form.
“Javier Hernandez and him have been a revelation in the last few weeks. It’s given us all hope we have a chance.”
2010 AFP
