Wenger sides with Fergie
26 Apr 2007 - 15:53:57
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has backed Sir Alex Ferguson to win this year's Premiership manager of the year accolade.
The Frenchman and the veteran United manager have not always seen eye to eye in their attempts to win silverware over the years, but Wenger believes Ferguson's achievements this season should see him rewarded ahead of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Wenger also believes Steve Coppell is the frame for the award with Reading on target to secure European football for next season in their first year in the top-flight.
He said: "I feel this year Sir Alex Ferguson, because he's in a position to fight on every front, and Steve Coppell, who is in a position where nobody expected him to be and he has a team who do not play negatively - they have a positive attitude everywhere they go."
Meanwhile, Wenger claims that part of the reason for Arsenal's disappointing showing this season can be attributed to their move to a new stadium.
The Gunners swapped Highbury for their new Emirates Stadium home during the summer and Wenger believes the unfamiliar surroundings cost his side points in the early part of the season.
"At the start, for ten games, in my opinion we played on a neutral ground because we had our supporters but we felt somewhere strange, on another planet," he claimed.
"I think now for us to play at the Emirates is to play at home.
"It had more of an impact than you can imagine because I feel in some games we drew when at Highbury we would just have won."