BEWARE ‘DESPERATE’ WIGAN, SIR ALEX

MAY 13, 2012 will go down in Premier League history as the day Manchester United lost the title on goal difference with practically the last kick of the season. Those who witnessed United’s alarming collapse over those final few weeks, however, know that it began long before Sergio Aguero’s unforgettable goal for Manchester City left Sir Alex Ferguson and his players bereft on the pitch at Sunderland. April 11, to be precise. United were eight points clear with six games left and odds-on for the title when the wheels began to come off on a fateful Wednesday night at Wigan. Shaun Maloney’s second-half strike condemned the champions to a shock 1-0 defeat that turned the title race. United go back to the DW Stadium today with a seven-point advantage knowing they can illafford another slip with City, in second, once again leading the chase. Roberto Martinez is convinced the secret behind one of the most famous results in Wigan’s history was sheer desperation to win points in their own battle against relegation, which made his players concentrate on their own game rather than the calibre of their opponents. Worryingly for United, the Wigan boss believes they are just as desperate this time around. ‘Nobody could have expected what was going to happen in the following weeks,’ said Martinez. ‘But last season we had such a massive need to get points we couldn’t afford to look who we were playing against. Too many times in the past we’d played Manchester United and that affected us. That day we learned we had to play Wigan Athletic. ‘The desperation factor is still there.’