Like Kevin Keegan and Arsene Wenger before him, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho must learn to live with the hot breath of Manchester United's Alex Ferguson on his collar in the decisive final weeks of the English soccer season.
Ferguson was at his mischievous best - or worst, depending on your perspective - last weekend when he belittled Chelsea's seven-point lead at the top of the premier league.
With five games left, the title remains Chelsea's to lose after they beat West Ham United 4-1 at Stamford Bridge yesterday (NZ time) despite being down to 10 men for most of the game.
But after United later swept to a 2-0 victory over Champions League semifinalists Arsenal, their ninth league win in succession, Ferguson turned up the heat.
"They've got to go to Bolton, Blackburn and then Newcastle on the last day of the season for Alan Shearer's last game for Newcastle," Ferguson noted.
"So there are a lot of things in our favour."
The 64-year-old Scot's relish is explained by the fact that in his 20 years in charge at Old Trafford United have rarely been underdogs.
When they have been, Ferguson has shown he can be a master at creating exaggerated pressure on his rivals.
In 2003, Wenger's Arsenal were eight points clear of United in March but Ferguson's team produced an unstoppable run to overhaul them in the tense final weeks of the season.
Ten years ago, United famously reeled in Keegan's Newcastle United who had held a 15-point lead at Christmas.
Ferguson provoked Keegan's infamous "I would love it if we beat them, love it!" rant in a television interview as Newcastle's lead evaporated.
Keegan's comment, dubbed 'quote of the decade' by the premier league's official website, was made on April 29, which will also be the day this year that Ferguson's men face Chelsea in United's penultimate league match.
Like Keegan, Mourinho is not one to mince his soundbites but the Portuguese coach has so far resisted the temptation to panic publicly, despite watching Chelsea's lead shrink from 18 points to seven.
Chelsea's secret hope will be that they secure the title before United's visit.
They will do so if they win their next two games away to Bolton Wanderers and at home to Everton, provided United drop at least three points in their next three games -- at home to Sunderland, away to Tottenham Hotspur and at home to Middlesbrough.
- REUTERS
Soccer: Mourinho feels Ferguson breathing down his neck
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