Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has urged his players to remain focused as they try to snatch the Premier League title back from fierce rivals Manchester City.

The Red Devils, who currently sit at the top of the table with a nine-point lead, relinquished an eight-point advantage last season to go on and lose the title in the dying minutes of the campaign.

"You hope that the players realise that the league is there for them [to win]," the Daily Star quotes Ferguson as saying. "It's obviously a big challenge and we've got the FA Cup and the Champions League as well. It's always an important time.

"The players have shown great appetite for it. They showed that against Tottenham in the way they fought like hell to get a [1-1 draw] and were unlucky it went against them at the end. But we're definitely in the right shape."

United go up against Everton this Sunday.