Manchester: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes his side will be in with a chance of winning back the Premier League title if they are within striking distance of leaders Chelsea at the turn of the year.

United trail the champions by nine points going into this weekend’s games, though Ferguson is hoping the gap could be trimmed to six or less over the next few weeks.

With United clear of European commitments for once and Chelsea chasing the Champions League, the Scot feels there is plenty of scope for a change around

“December is always an important month. You get to the end of December and if you’re in a challenging position you know you have a real chance,” Ferguson told reporters on Friday.

“I have always said by the time you get to the end of December you have a fair idea where you stand and hopefully we are in that position where we are within a few points of Chelsea come the end of the month.

“If we have a good December it can only set us up,” said Fergusson.

United went back into second place in the table and narrowed the gap on Chelsea thanks to their biggest win of the season in their game in hand a 4-0 victory over Wigan on Wednesday night.

Ferguson’s side now plays at 14th-placed Aston Villa on Saturday while Chelsea face a tough trip to 2004 champions Arsenal the following day.

Chelsea could therefore be just six points clear when they go to Highbury.