If Manchester United secure their 18th league title on Saturday
it won’t be long before they start looking to win number 19, says
Paul Scholes.
Although he already has eight Premier League championship medals
in his collection, Scholes is pretty eager to get his hands on a
ninth.
Just a draw, against Arsenal at Old Trafford or, failing that,
at Hull on May 24, will be enough for the Red Devils to finish top
of the pile once more, denying Liverpool the chance to end a
drought dating back to 1990.
But, as ever with United, attention will quickly shift. First to
a Champions League final date with Barcelona in Rome on May 27 and
then to becoming the first team in English football history to win
four titles on the trot.
“I never think about the wider picture,” said Scholes. “I just
think about what I am involved in at the minute. Whatever has
happened before has gone.
“I am sure if we manage to win the league tomorrow a few days
later we will be thinking about next year.”
Plenty of water has flowed under the bridge since Scholes helped
disprove Alan Hansen’s theory of winning nothing with kids by
claiming the double in 1996.
In fairness to the Liverpool legend and Match of the Day pundit,
Ferguson knew his kids were pretty special, with Gary Neville and
Ryan Giggs also in the squad to face Arsenal tomorrow, while David
Beckham, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville send best wishes from
elsewhere.
All six were involved in some pretty spectacular comebacks down
the years, a trait that continues to this day.
After the late smash and grab raid on Aston Villa at the
beginning of last month and the sensational five-goal second-half
against Tottenham three weeks’ later, Wednesday’s comeback at Wigan
was rather routine.
But Scholes admits the confidence that courses through the Red
Devils camp ensures no-one will ever accept being beaten while
there is still a ball left to be kicked.
“Every lad here is quite confident in their ability and
confident that if they are in a sticky situation they can get out
of it,” said the former England star.
“Whatever situation has been put in front of them, they always
come up with the answers.
“Against Villa it looked like we were going to get beaten and we
won it. Tottenham were 2-0 up but as soon as we get a goal and
start to come back at teams, we feel we can get three or four.”
Such self-belief is the major reason why few expect United to
fail on Saturday, even though Arsenal victories at Old Trafford are
not exactly unheard of.
Indeed, it is only just over a year since Arsene Wenger’s men
had high hopes of landing the title again themselves, only to
falter in the final weeks of the campaign.
“Arsenal were quite close to us last season but there is quite a
big gap now,” admitted Michael Carrick. “They have some great
players at the club and for whatever reason, this season has not
quite worked for them.
“At the moment there are four teams who believe they can win
this league each season and you have to include Arsenal in that
because they were so close last year. But it does not take a lot to
slip away.
“We know how tough it has become and that is why it would be
even more satisfying if we can pull it off.”