Source: Daily_Mail
Sir Alex Ferguson dismisses Chelsea and Manchester City title hopes
Eyes on the prize: United manager Ferguson[LNB]Sir Alex Ferguson is certain the Barclays Premier League title will be a two-horse race between Manchester United and Arsenal.[LNB]United face champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, with two more away games at Wigan today and Liverpool next weekend.[LNB]But Ferguson has written off Carlo Ancelotti's side and believes a 12-point gap with 12 games to go is an insurmountable hurdle.[LNB]Manchester City and Tottenham are also well behind the top two.[LNB]'It won't be easy for them to come back from however many points deficit they've got,' said Ferguson, who confirmed Rio Ferdinand will not be fit in time to face Chelsea.[LNB]'Arsenal or ourselves will win it. You come towards the end and there are always two teams who break away. That's the way it's looking at the moment.[LNB]'Maybe 82 points will win the league. We think we can gather that total from the games we've got. You don't care where you get them.'[LNB]Even Ancelotti appears to have given up on retaining the league title and has restated his aim to win the Champions League in order to keep his job.[LNB]'I am thinking about the Champions League and fourth place at the minimum in the Premier League,' he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.[LNB]'I have drummed it into the team: think about the final at Wembley.'[LNB]Ancelotti was linked with the manager's post at Roma following the departure of another former Chelsea boss, Claudio Ranieri, although that position has now been filled by Vincenzo Montella. But Ancelotti said: 'I count on staying where I am. Here is where I feel good. I still have some bonuses to earn in England.[LNB]'I am still Italian, but I appreciate the English. I will return to coach in Italy, but when, I really don't know.'[LNB]John Terry attempted to come to hismanager's aid when the Chelsea skipper suggested United may yet crackunder the pressure, but Ferguson dismissed his comments as kidology.[LNB]'You try things don't you,' he said with a smile.[LNB]Even so, United's poor record ofjust three Premier League wins on the road this season suggests threeaway fixtures in eight days could yet have a major bearing on theirtitle hopes.[LNB] One up: Park Ji-Sung scored the only goal as United got the better of Arsenal at Old Trafford in December[LNB]Although they have not dropped a point in five visits to Wigan, there are concerns over the playing surface at the DW Stadium after the pitch was again re-laid in mid-season.[LNB]'I understand it isn't too bad,' said Ferguson. 'It's more in their interests than ours because they play in a particular way where passing is important to them.[LNB]'If they thought it would have helped them to beat us with a bad pitch, they'd have had a bad pitch.[LNB]'Our away form has not been as good as it normally is. We've got these three away games now, and that's the acid test I suppose.'[LNB]The Glazer family yesterday insisted they have no intention of selling United after Sportsmail exclusively revealed that the Qatar royal family are ready to raise their offer for the club to ?1.5billion.[LNB]A statement that accompanied the release of second-quarter financial results read: 'The owners remain fully committed to their long-term ownership of the club.[LNB]'No discussions have taken place, Manchester United is not for sale and the owners will not entertain any offers.'[LNB]The new figures show that United's debt has fallen from ?512.5m 12 months ago to ?489.4m on December 31, 2010.[LNB]Overall turnover has grown from ?144.7m to ?156.5m, mainly due to a massive 30.2 per cent rise in commercial revenue.[LNB] Ferguson laughs off Terry's claim that United could fold in title run-inNotorious Wigan pitch relaid for visit of table-topping Manchester UnitedAll the latest Premier League team news for February 26-28All the latest Manchester United news, features and opinionAll the latest Arsenal news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Carlo Ancelotti Places: Liverpool, Qatar, Italy, United Kingdom
