Ferguson claims he is ‘halfway’ to title

Sir Alex Ferguson said Manchester United are “halfway” to the Premier League title after Robin van Persie scored late on to seal a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

 

United go into Tuesday’s visit to Wigan Athletic leading the Premier League by seven points from defending champions Manchester City, and with Van Persie having scored 33 club goals for Arsenal and Ferguson’s team in the year 2012.

 

His last-minute effort in the 2-0 win against West Brom, adding to an early Gareth McAuley own goal, was his 14th Premier League strike since moving to Old Trafford in the close season and his 17th for United in all competitions.

 

After scoring his goal towards the end of Saturday’s game, van Persie revealed a T-shirt bearing the words ‘RIP Tchuna’, in tribute to a personal friend who had passed away on the eve of the game.

 

Ferguson certainly appreciated the efforts of his forward and the United manager believes that United are halfway towards completing their goal of wrestling the league title from City’s grip.

 

“He (Van Persie) changed the game for us,” said Ferguson. “When I brought him and Paul Scholes on, they settled the game down for us.

 

“It (Van Persie’s goal) is fantastic. He is a fantastic player. He came on and changed the game for us.

 

“We’re in a good position. We’re halfway there. We’ve a game on Tuesday away from home at Wigan and we’ve got a few players to freshen it up. We’ll look forward to the next game and try and win it.

 

“It’s important, though, that we do not sit looking at the league table, admiring our position, positive though it is, because we would soon get a rude awakening,” Fergie told the BBC.