By Sam Bisby
22 Apr 2011 16:19:00
John O’Shea (Getty Images)
Related Links
Teams
Players
Manchester United defender John O’Shea is calling for concentration from his teammates ahead of this weekend’s clash with Everton, as they look to avoid throwing another game away against the Merseyside outfit.
The season’s first match between these two saw United throw away a 3-1 lead at Goodison Park, as late goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta secured a point for David Moyes’ side.
With the Red Devils closing in on a record 19th league title, any mistakes could be costly in Sir Alex Ferguson’s mission in overtaking Liverpool once and for all in the number of top-flight championships.
A win at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon would see United preserve their six-point lead at the perch of the table over second placed Chelsea and although he can’t guarantee getting a result out of Everton, O’Shea is adamant that there will be no slip-ups this time.
He said: “If we are 3-1 up with a couple of minutes to go, I don’t think the same situation would occur. My clear memory of that game is that we should have been out of sight.
“We created so many chances but were sloppy in not finishing the game off. In the end, we got punished.”
Sir Alex’s side could be set to be the first team to claim the Premier League title with a final tally of less than 80 points since the Scotsman’s treble winning outfit back in 1998-99.
O’Shea says the team are surprised to be in such a position, but believes the consistent results have rewarded them with such a privileged situation and claims it is the reason why no other side have managed to replicate such domination this season.
“You could say we are surprised at our position given the results early on,” said the Irishman.
“But we weren’t losing games. We were going to tough places and coming away from matches really disappointed that we had not won quite comfortably.
“There wasn’t much tweaking needed to turn those draws into wins and our home form has been such a key factor for where we are in the league now.”