Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Liverpool will find it difficult to break in to the top four of the Premier League this season with increased competition from the likes of Tottenham and Everton and recent upheaval at Anfield.

Ahead of the rivals’ Sunday afternoon clash on Merseyside, the 70-year-old stated that the scale of the Anfield job, and Brendan Rodgers’ relative youth, mean that Liverpool may find the top four too much of a stretch this year.

“It’s hard [to break into the top four]. Liverpool – it’s a new regime and it might take time,” he told reporters.

“The only place you can be now is that top four and this season you do expect Chelsea to be better than last year, Arsenal are better than last year, there’s no doubt about that and they’ve started the season very well and we are where we were last year with City. So I think those four will be the top four,” said Sir Alex.

“Everton, of course, could do it – and they want to do it. Tottenham could – and they want to do it.”

Liverpool removed director of sport strategy Damien Comolli in April and manager Kenny Dalglish in May, while new boss Rodgers has collected just two points from four league games so far this season, and will be desperate for a first win against United to kick-start his side’s season.

However, the United manager suggested that the rebuilding job facing 39-year-old Rodgers is a tough one for such a young manager: “I don’t know how they do it over there [Liverpool] but it’s very hard at any club.

“You have to have your own philosophy, your own beliefs. To go to a big club at a young age is difficult, it’s a hard job.”

While there is definite animosity between the supporters of the two sides – a fact emphasised in Sir Alex’s letter which is due to be handed to travelling United fans as they go through the turnstiles, appealing for calm before the planned tribute to victims of the Hillsborough tragedy – the Scot was complimentary about his treatment by the Anfield crowd.

He added: “When I’ve been to Liverpool over the past few years to watch games they’ve been brilliant to me, the fans.

“They are joking and that kind of thing. I don’t get a bit of abuse.

“Different from when I go to Leeds!”

When Liverpool and Manchester United go head-to-head at Anfield on Sunday, an epic sporting rivalry between English football’s two most successful clubs will be renewed.

But ahead of the clash – the Reds’ first home match since the shocking and damning findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel were published – both clubs have pleaded with their fans to respect the occasion and each other by commemorating the 96 victims of the 1989 disaster together.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has written an open letter to the club’s fans urging them not to let themselves down on the day, and the general mood appears to be one of rare unity between two very different clubs whose illustrious histories are similarly scarred by the memory of terrible tragedies.

COMMENT
By David Lynch

Though their dominance in other areas can hardly be questioned, the trepidation with which Manchester United approach games at Liverpool’s Anfield home has long been evident.

The Red Devils have not posted victory in the L4 postcode since 2007, a run which reflects their own cautious outlook on Merseyside as much as their great rivals’ quality on the pitch. Ever since Rafael Benitez masterminded Liverpool’s famous 4-1 victory at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson has appeared to fear a trip down the East Lancs Road.
United have been beaten on three occasions at Anfield since then, but it was perhaps last season’s 1-1 Premier League draw which best underlined Sir Alex’s attitude toward the fixture. On that day, the Scot left talismanic striker Wayne Rooney out of a line-up which contained five defenders, and selected an undoubtedly ‘safe’ midfield of Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park, Ryan Giggs and Ashley Young. Though the result suggests an even game, the visitors were fortunate to get away with a point thanks to some typically profligate Liverpool finishing and a set-piece goal.

Of course, United’s manager has not adopted such pragmatism with open arms; the wily 70-year-old has built teams which have often ruled through their fearless approach. But, in the current climate, the Glaswegian is also canny enough to realise that, with the unprecedented number of points needed to win the league nowadays, taking one point is certainly better than risking getting none at all.

The confidence accrued from keeping an unbeaten run going far outweighs the potential benefits of a fan-pleasing end-to-end battle. Winning Premier League titles in May is the sole aim, not providing a spectacle for supporters and pundits which could potentially backfire away from home.

However, whilst that may be true, the former Aberdeen boss has arguably paid too much deference to a side which has been there for the taking in recent times.

That United’s last win at Anfield came thanks to the attacking triumvirate of Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo says it all. The visitors may not need to give in to senseless attacking abandon, but playing to their undoubted strengths at the top of the field may just turn one point into three.

United will be without the injured Rooney this time around, but have never been better placed to make up for his absence with Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa ready to feature. With  Nani, Antonio Valencia, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez also part of their attacking options, Sir Alex has an embarrassment of riches should he choose to go all out.

And there are more arguments for doing so than just his own squad strength: the Liverpool he is set to face on Sunday is vastly different from those of the past.

Perennial big-game goalscorer Dirk Kuyt, the man who has netted four goals in the Reds’ last three victories over United at Anfield, is now at Fenerbahce. Lucas Leiva, another source of regular frustration for the Red Devils’ midfield, will also be absent due to the thigh tear he picked up against Manchester City.

The Merseyside outfit do not boast the generally imperious backline of past seasons either, having looked increasingly shaky and unable to adapt to the new possession-based system which is being asked of them in recent games. There are few teams in English football as likely to punish hesitancy on the ball and absent-mindedness at the back as Manchester United.

Sir Alex might well take confidence from the fact that his opposite number, Brendan Rodgers, is also a new element in this fixture. The Northern Irishman has spoken impressively since joining the club and possesses an admirable philosophy on how football should be played. However, his words will count for little should he not get the results to back them up.

As a new face in this most historic of fixtures, he is likely to be as nervous as anyone else in the ground and, though the former Swansea manager will appreciate the good will a victory over United could earn him, he will be appropriately cautious about avoiding a demoralising defeat.

Whether that anxious atmosphere will transmit to the home fans, who should play a vital role on Sunday afternoon, is yet to be seen. The Kop may still embrace the confidence boost the arrival of a new manager often brings rather than the scepticism of an indifferent start to the season, but the groans which can at times meet mistakes will be particularly unwelcome here.

And that is something which the United boss must relish; a sharp start against a fragile Liverpool crowd and team could set his side on the way to a victory for the first time in five years.

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