Manchester City sealing the title against United would not be ‘the end of the world’ insists Jose Mourinho
City will become the first Premier League side to win the title with six or more games to spare if they beat United this weekend
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho has reassured Manchester United supporters that it will not be “the end of the world” if Manchester City are crowned champions in Saturday’s derby at the Etihad.
City will become the first Premier League side to win the title with six or more games to spare if they beat United, who hold the current record for the earliest title win - their 2000-01 triumph on 14 April.
Mourinho knows that defeat in the derby to hand City the title would cause significant embarrassment and on Friday, he told supporters that his side will do all they can to postpone the coronation.
He also recalled his Chelsea side’s defeat of Sir Alex Ferguson’s United to win the title back in 2006.
Ferguson’s side bounced back to win three successive titles in the seasons that followed, a reminder that failure to challenge City this season is not necessarily fatal.
“Look, I won the title at Chelsea against Manchester United,” Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference.
“We beat United 3-0 and we won the title at Stamford Bridge in 2005-06, but it was not the end of the world. Manchester United did not finish. It was just football.
“The only thing I can say is that we want to win, we don't want to offer them the game. We want to go there and want to compete and win the match if possible. That's the only thing I can say.”
The United manager added: “It is normal that you want to delay the champions becoming champions. We would like to beat them, we would like Spurs to beat them next week, we would like them to be champions as late as possible.
“I think Chelsea would feel the same because they would like to be [reigning] champions as long as possible - until late April or the beginning of May.
“That is normal in football but in this case obviously they are going to be champions because there is a very significant difference.”
A morose Mourinho denied, however, that fifth-placed Chelsea’s capitulation this season should give him hope that the same fate could befall the champions-elect.
The United manager also dismissed the suggestion that victory for his side at the Etihad could lay down a marker for next season.
“I don't think so,” he said. “I think the good thing for us may be not very important [in the great scheme of things], but it is important for us is to finish second rather than finish third.
“That is our objective - to finish second. It is something that is possible, so we will try to fight to finish the second team in the table.”
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