United need seven points from their four remaining fixtures to
guarantee the title but Ferguson was irked by suggestions that,
because their next two league games are against Arsenal and Chelsea, the two London teams still
have a chance of overhauling them.
"The thing that puzzles me is that people keep saying we still
have to play Arsenal and Chelsea and they talk about these games as
if we are going to lose them," the Manchester United manager said
after Everton's defensive resilience was broken by Javier
Hernández's 83rd-minute header.
"Why can't we win these games? Why can't we go to the Emirates
Stadium and win, as we have done previously? I told the players to
forget about all that nonsense and just win their games."
Manchester United have won their last two games at the Emirates,
where they go next Sunday, and should they overcome Arsenal and
beat Chelsea, Ferguson will lift the 12th Premier League title of his career on
8 May.
Of those dozen championships, this is likely to draw the least
acclaim with United producing few performances that would disprove
the charge by the Marseille manager, Didier Deschamps, that this is
a team "that lacks fantasy".
Nevertheless, Ferguson paid tribute to a side who have dropped
only two points at Old Trafford all season and have now snatched
half a dozen victories in the final 10 minutes.
"There is that winning attitude about them," he said. "We will
keep our heads down and not get carried away. There are only four
games left and the way they are going about their business and the
effort they have shown, it gives them an outstanding chance of
being champions. You can test people's character but they keep
coming through.
"We had some great openings and could have had this match
finished by half-time but it is in the traditions of Manchester
United that we don't do that. We always wait until the very end and
keep everyone high on the edge of their seats but we get
there."
Ferguson appeared agitated on the touchline, complaining about
what he regarded as Everton's time-wasting and arguing that they
should not have been allowed the five minutes of stoppage time that
produced. The manager said he was confident a goal would come.
"I could feel it coming," he said of a match that produced no
injury issues before Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first
leg against Schalke. "We had the momentum and the crowd was up.
When the crowd gets going at Old Trafford they suck the ball in. It
was a tight game and some of Everton's defending was fantastic.
"We had shots blocked near the line and their goalkeeper made
two or three great saves. You say to yourself: 'It's going to be a
late one' but you can just smell the history of the club when it
comes to scoring late and so it was here.
"The important thing is that we never gave up; we took gambles
and we took risks. We put Wayne Rooney in the middle of the pitch
and we brought Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs on." Hernández's goal
was his 19th in his first season in the English game – as many as
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in his first season at Old
Trafford.
"We did not expect this kind of return," Ferguson said. "We
thought his first year would be an introduction to the club;
getting him adapted to English football and strengthening him up.
But he has done all these things and more. He is special."