United Rant

Sir Alex Ferguson acclaimed his Premier League title winning team as Manchester United drew 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park to seal a 19th domestic championship. The 69-year-old Scot, celebrating his 12th title in charge at Old Trafford, said that his players’ fighting spirit brought them through to eclipse Liverpool as the most successful club in England. Ferguson’s players also revelled in winning a 12th title since the Premier League’s inception in 1992; the most dominant club in modern English football.

Sir Alex Ferguson

“It’s a fantastic performance by the lads,” said Ferguson, who reiterated that he has no intention of retiring this summer.

“The players worked their socks of to get the result we needed. It wasn’t an easy game; we were 1-0 down after giving away a bad goal, but we kept on going and that’s one of the great qualities they have, they don’t give in.

“In the 80s it was Liverpool’s time. When I came down I never thought I’d achieve what we have done, but I always looked at getting that first title. Getting the first one opened the door for us, and we’ve had some great teams after that.

“I can’t believe it. I had a great spell at Aberdeen in fairness, I had a great time up there, but it was always time for me to move on at some point and I couldn’t have picked a better club. This was the ideal club for me, there’s no question about that. It was the only club in the world that matched what I needed at the time.”

Ryan Giggs

“It’s a tough league to win and you can see by the celebrations it’s still as special as ever,” said Giggs, who like his manager now has 12 Premier League titles.

“This is what you live for. This is why I’m still playing at 37 for these moments. It gets better and better. It’s a pleasure to play in this team, the spirit is brilliant and we want to win trophies. We’re champions and we’re in the Champions League final, it’s a rubbish team!

Maybe early on in the season we weren’t playing great football, but since the turn of the year we’ve played some good stuff and we deserve to be champions.

“It’s great. If you look back 20 years we were nowhere near Liverpool. To overturn that kind of deficit is great credit to the club, to the manager and the players who have been involved. It’s great to be in front of our biggest rivals.”

Wayne Rooney

“I was terrified, the ref took a long time to give it,” Rooney said of the penalty that effectively won United the title.

“I had to compose myself, [but] I’d been practising all week. For me personally, being an Everton fan, to win a 19th title is special. After the year I’ve had, with the ups and downs, this is for the fans and the team.”

Javier Hernández

“It’s brilliant. It’s awesome. I’m very happy,” the 20-goal Mexican told Sky Sports.

“It’s definitely more than I could have imagined. Every game, every day in England, has been happier than I dreamed. It’s unbelievable. I have dreamt about this moment and I am enjoying it a lot. It really is unbelievable. We’re the best team in the world.”

Dimitar Berbatov

“Second title, it’s great,” added the Premier League top goalscorer.

“And even better this season because I scored many goals this season so I’ve helped the team win it. Hopefully I can play in the last game so I can score a couple more goals.”

Rio Ferdinand

“We missed out last year by a point,” said the former England captain.

“It was here [at Ewood Park] we pretty much lost the league so it was nice to come back here and get it done. We gave away a soft goal but we persevered and got our rewards. To get it done this week makes it easier for the manager, I’m sure.

“It’s a better league this year, teams have been beating each other from the bottom to the top which makes it more exciting for the fans. I’m delighted, it’s been a hard couple of years being out but if you work hard you get your rewards.”