manager David Moyes maintains
that his side can still win the
Premier League despite slipping 12
points behind leaders Arsenal.
The Old Trafford side suffered a
fourth defeat of the season when
they were stunned 1-0 at home by
his former club Everton on
Wednesday.
The champions are now ninth in
the table and are as close to the
relegation zone as they are to the
summit.
United only lost five league games
in the whole of last season, but
even though Moyes accepts it will
be a struggle, he insists his team
should not be ruled out.
"We have got a long way to go," he
said. "We will need to play some
great football and win an awful lot
of games in the run-in if we are
going to be in there and around it
at the end of the season."
Asked if he believed United were
capable of that, he replied: "Yes.
I've got nothing to suggest
anything else."
The United manager admits he
does not know when last season's
top scorer Robin van Persie will
return from a groin problem.
Striker Wayne Rooney, meanwhile,
will be suspended for Saturday's
home match against Newcastle
United after picking up five yellow
cards.
Netherlands international Van
Persie has not played since the 1-0
win over Arsenal on November 10.
"It is a sort of a groin injury.
Nothing desperately serious, just a
groin injury," Moyes said.
"We have been trying to get him
back for a few weeks, but he is not
ready yet."
Moyes was the target for chants
from Everton fans angry at the
manner of his departure during
the close season and his
subsequent attempts to sign
Marouane Fellaini, who joined in a
27.5 million deal ($45 million, 33.2
million euros), and Leighton
Baines.
But the Scot, who spent 11 years
at Goodison Park, said that he had
no issues with the supporters of
his former club.
"It is not important. Everton
supporters supported their team
well," he said.
"It (defeat) doesn't hurt more
being Everton. I know they are a
very good team with very good
players. You would imagine it is a
sore one when it is your old team,
so that is the way it is."
After Rooney and Danny Welbeck
hit the woodwork either side of
half-time, Everton's Costa Rican
left-back Bryan Oviedo turned in
the game's only goal from Romelu
Lukaku's scuffed shot with four
minutes remaining.
Everton are fifth in the table and
five points above United after their
first victory at Old Trafford since
1992.
Moyes's successor, Roberto
Martinez, believes that the victory
at United will help his team change
their mindset against the Premier
League's biggest sides.
"It was more than a football game;
for us it was trying to get over the
mental block we had for many
years," said Martinez.
"Someone told me it's 20-odd
years since we won at Old
Trafford, so it wasn't about three
points. It was about being
ourselves throughout the game
and pushing each other.
"The performance isn't the best
this season - we've played a lot
better - but we had a real
mentality when we had to dig in
and they created a few chances.
"But we never felt inferior and
kept doing what we're good at,
created many open chances,
which is always hard to do, and
overall I couldn't be prouder of
the mentality of the players."
On Oviedo, who has been used as
back-up to Baines since joining
Everton in 2012, Martinez added:
"Bryan has got the hardest job in
football to be fighting against one
of the best left-backs in world
football at the peak of his career.
"It's reward for his hard work and
he deserves it."
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