Dimitar Berbatov, the Manchester United striker, believes that confidence is the key to his club reversing their recent run of poor away form and holding on to their spot at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
United have suffered consecutive away defeats to title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool in the past week and now have only a three-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal with nine matches left to play this season.
However, Berbatov, the former Bulgaria forward, insists that the side will do everything they can to improve their dismal away record to reclaim the league title in May.
“It’s difficult but you must try not to lose your confidence,” the 30-year-old said. “Every player goes through those bad times – the truly top players distinguish themselves, however, by overcoming it.”
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have not lost at home since the start of the season, but they have slumped to a series of disappointing draws and losses outside of Manchester.
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Berbatov, who joined United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 after spells with Bayern Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria, thinks that other teams raise their standard against United and said that his side must react to this.
“We haven’t won as many games as we should have away from home, but that’s not because we haven’t tried to,” he continued in an interview on the club’s website. “We never go into a game looking for a draw or thinking we’d be happy with a point. We aim to win each game.
“The difficulty is that other teams lift their game when they play Manchester United. We’re the biggest club, so it’s only natural. But that’s not an excuse: we need to be better away from home.
“At Old Trafford, we’re doing really well. We’re entertaining the fans, we’re scoring a lot of goals. The aim is to bring that to our away performances.”
Berbatov, who has scored 46 times for United, has enjoyed a successful season, which has included three hat-tricks.
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“I’m confident right now. I’m a striker and if I’m scoring goals my confidence is high,” he said. “You can find yourself doubting yourself. But that’s when you need to keep the faith and realise everything is going to be OK. You work hard in training and keep doing the things you’re good at.”
Nevertheless he is adamant that it is team and not individual performances that will give United the chance to overcome their nearest challengers in the Premier League and to ensure continued success in the FA Cup and Champions League.
“Football is changing all the time and, especially in England, the gap between the top clubs and the bottom clubs is closing,” he said. “Everybody’s strong, everybody’s buying top players. It’s great for football.
“You need so many different things to come together for you. There are so many games and the schedule is so tight.
“Often the team with the most experienced players and the team that keeps its players freshest ends up succeeding. If you do have those things, you’ll do well. Oh, and not losing as many games as everybody else helps!”
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United will have to wait until they face West Ham United at Upton Park on April 2 to see if they can get their away record back on track. The club’s next three matches against Arsenal in the FA Cup, Marseilles in the Champions League and Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League, are all at Old Trafford.