Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has heaped on his players who he said played like “champions” in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with midtable West Ham United.
The Red Devils’ lead at the summit was cut to 13 points, with second-placed Manchester City winning 1-0 over Wigan, prompting some speculation the Sky Blues still have a sniff in the title race.
United did it the hard way against the Hammers, twice coming from behind thanks to goals from Antonio Valencia and Robin van Persie and Ferguson wanted to praise his players for that.
“We had to stand up to a lot but our players kept going,” Ferguson said.
“We were behind twice but we came back and I thought we played like champions.
“We were magnificent in terms of our determination and courage to play. We don’t like losing and we showed that again tonight so I was pleased with the result.
“It’s a game closer to the title. We have five left - three at home, two away - and the players are showing they want to win it. There’s no doubt about that.
“We’ve got a nice cushion with our lead but we don’t want to make any mistakes.”