Ferguson stays 'optimistic' in race for the title

The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is "optimistic" about his side's title chances and believes their level is not far away from that of Barcelona and Real Madrid. The champions are just two points behind the Premier League leaders Manchester City and temporarily topped the table after beating Liverpool on Saturday.

Ferguson is determined to push City all the way in a season in which he endured the disappointment of an early exit from the Champions League. The Scot told Fifa.com: "We've had our ups and downs and we've been unlucky with injuries. We've had a lot of them, which you don't expect, and we've got people like Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher out for the whole season.

"You can replace your best players for a game or two, but you really notice the difference over a longer period, and that's what's happened to us. Even so, we're fighting hard to win the Premiership again and there's a lot of merit in that. Obviously, I'm optimistic about our chances."

United have reached the Champions League final three times in the past four seasons but went out at the group stage this term after two damaging results – a draw and a defeat – against Basle and now play Ajax in the Europa League tomorrow. Ferguson is convinced that was merely a blip and his side can soon get back to the level of the top European sides.

He said: "I feel we had the ability to go all the way to the final. Luck wasn't on our side, but I think we've got the ambition to compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid, and I don't feel we're that far away from them. I'm sure we'll show that soon."