Manchester headlines do Chelsea a favour - Ferguson

Posted Friday, September 16, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

By Sonia Oxley

MANCHESTER, England, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The
headline-grabbing start to the season made by the two Manchester
teams suits fellow title contenders Chelsea down to the ground,
United manager Alex Ferguson said two days before his side host
the Londoners in the Premier League.

United top the table on goal difference from neighbours
Manchester City, with the pair having scored 33 goals between
them in four wins out of four. Chelsea are third, two points
behind.

"At the moment of course the Manchester teams are enjoying
the publicity of the predictions that we're going to be involved
in winning the league," Ferguson, a master of pre-match mind
games, told a news conference on Friday.

"But then in the background lurks Chelsea and they don't
need the publicity because it's all going to Manchester and they
will be enjoying that at the moment. But they will be there at
the end of the season, there is no doubt about that."

Ferguson praised 33-year-old Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas
for his start at the club, drawing parallels with his own
experience of taking the helm at United nearly 25 years ago.

"The new coach Boas has started very well for a young man
that has come to Chelsea, it's a great challenge, it's a hard
challenge at his age but he seems to have acquitted himself very
well and his team have responded," the Scot said.

"There are similarities when I came from Aberdeen, I had
achieved something (Scottish league title), so that helped me
and the same for Boas, he won the double (with Porto) last year.

"That is a help, the achievement will stand him in good
stead in terms of the start to his time at Chelsea.

"After that the pressure the players will get in terms of
his knowledge of the game and his man-management skills is all
in the future. He's had a good start."

Ferguson was relieved to come through Wednesday's 1-1
Champions League draw at Benfica with no new injury concerns,
meaning only defenders Nemanja Vidic and Rafael, midfielder Tom
Cleverley and forward Danny Welbeck remain sidelined.

"We have a strong squad for Sunday which will be a fantastic
game," Ferguson said. "The games between both clubs over the
last seven years have been very very close affairs ... it will
be very tight on Sunday again. It should be a good game."

Chelsea were the last team to win at Old Trafford in April
2010 and will be hoping for a repeat in Sunday's match (1500
GMT) which pits the champions against last season's runners-up.

Last season United dropped only two points at home on their
way to a record 19th league title.