MANCHESTER UNITED WINGER Ashley Young insists the pressure is on cross-town rivals Manchester City in the title race.

Young is convinced Alex Ferguson’s side will win the Premier League this season, with United one point ahead of City in the table with nine games to play.

The Manchester derby on April 30 is already being billed as a potentially decisive fixture.

Young, in his first season at Old Trafford, believes United’s winning mentality will make the difference – and expects the strain to show on City as they attempt to win that club’s first title in 44 years.

“I think the pressure has always been on City,” Young told Goal.com. “We will concentrate on ourselves. If we pick up the points, we will win the league and retain the title, which I’m sure we will do. “The minute I signed, the manager instilled that winning mentality into me. Any player that has signed for the club will say that winning mentality is put into you straight away.

“I think every player there is like that, whether it’s in training or a match. When the boys come in after training, they are upset and disappointed in losing.

“We have a great team spirit off the pitch and we’ve shown that on the pitch to get ourselves back and four points clear at the top of the table after a lot of people were writing us off earlier on in the season.

“When it comes to the vital stage of the season, which is the back end of it, I think we’ve got the momentum to take us to the finish line.”

The Manchester United dugout. Pic: PA

United are in stunning form domestically having overhauled their city rivals with a run of form that has seen them take 25 points from the last 27 available. Young, 26, is involved in his first title race after moving to United from Aston Villa last summer in a 16-million-pound deal, and the England international is hungry to win trophies at the most successful club in the country.

Asked whether this year’s title race justifies his move to Old Trafford, Young said: “Yeah, I think it does. I’ve always said that I want to join a club that’s going to be winning titles and winning the big competitions.

“For me, it started off perfectly in the Community Shield. Obviously, we’ve had disappointment in the League Cup, the FA Cup and the European competitions – but we’ve got a chance now to win the Premier League.

“United go for every competition we’re involved in. It’s disappointing to go out of the cup competitions but our focus is now on maintaining the title. I’m sure we will get that 20th title if we carry on with the momentum and form we’ve been showing.

“Of course, when you go out of big competitions you want to put that right. Every time we’ve had disappointment in competitions, we’ve bounced back and put that right.

“It’s now for us to go and win the title, which I think is vitally important after the exits we’ve had in other competitions this season.”

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