Sir Alex Ferguson was jubilant to see his Manchester United side crowned English Premiership champions after Chelsea's draw at Arsenal on Sunday, and the Scotsman insisted that a good start for the season was they key to United's success. "It's a fantastic day for the club and the supporters, it's been a fantastic season for them," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "Everyone associated with the club has been fantastic." United had a bright start to their campaign, as they only dropped seven points in their first 17 games, and Ferguson highlighted the significance of the flying start. "The key to it was having a good start to the season and trying to stay with them and I think we did that very well. The start to the season was very important to us." United eventually grabbed a hard-fought title after three seasons of playing second fiddle to Arsenal and Chelsea (twice).
Ferguson "There was an emphasis on the fact that over the last two years Chelsea had dominated the Premier League and we had a big job to do to catch them," he said. The Red Devils were handed a rare favor by their bitter rivals, Arsenal, who managed to hold Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium to conclude United's triumph, and Ferguson described his thrilling experience of watching the encounter. "I watched the last 15 minutes at the Emirates Stadium and I was in agony, I thought Arsenal were trying to throw it away! They kept giving the ball away, Chelsea kept driving forward and my heart was in my mouth," he said. He also had time to praise an injury-hit Chelsea side, who produced a brave display against the Gunners, having a man down after Khaled Boulahrouz's red card. "It was a great effort by Chelsea; you have to give them great credit." Despite Ferguson's joy with his team's achievement, he admitted that he still feels the bitterness of United's UEFA Champions League semi-final embarrassing exit by AC Milan last week. "To win the Premiership is a big, big achievement. So I suppose it was a priority, but I wish we'd at least got to the final in Athens, I must say."
