Wigan defeat won't derail title bid, insists Fergie

Sir Alex Ferguson says Manchester United's shock defeat to Wigan will not derail his players from their title charge.

United slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat at Wigan, which allowed title rivals Manchester City to close to five points the gap at the top of the table.

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Ferguson's side take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday, by which time their lead could be down to two points, with City playing Norwich 24 hours earlier.

But having overhauled City's five-point lead in little over a month, Ferguson said he was "delighted" with United's position, despite the setback at Wigan.

"From the position we were in a few months ago to where we are today, we have to be delighted," said Ferguson.

"With us losing on Wednesday, obviously Sunday become important for us.

"Hopefully we'll get back on track. But we have to put Wednesday's defeat into perspective.

"I've always said you drop points in the latter part of the season. We've done it every year.

"There's been the odd year, like the Treble season, when we went from December without losing, but it happens.

"A couple of years ago we lost 4-1 at home to Liverpool and ended up winning the league by nine points. So you do drop points in the run-in. City and us have both experienced that."

Ferguson said Paul Scholes, rested on Wednesday, will start against Villa.