Sir Alex Ferguson has chosen Grand National weekend to tell his Manchester United team it is time to "kick on" in their bid to complete a Premier League title hat-trick.
As a keen horse racing fan, Ferguson is acutely aware how gruelling tomorrow's Aintree spectacular can be, and how much adversity must be overcome by the eventual winner.
He does not see that much difference with the challenge posed by a 38-game league season. And, after successive defeats against Liverpool and Fulham, Ferguson feels United should not worry about what is past and renew their focus on what lies ahead.
"It is very appropriate to talk about the Grand National tomorrow," he said. "You go round those 30 fences and you might hit one or a horse might fall in front of you. Our challenge is about obstacles too. You might draw or [suffer] a defeat. You might play badly sometimes and win or play great and not score. That is because it is the toughest league in the world.
"The fact is we are a point clear. It doesn't matter how we got there, it is a great position to be in. What we have to do now is prove we can trust these players and they can trust each other.
"They can look round the dressing room and say, 'I am glad I have got these guys in my team'. With that kind of ability and the experience we have of run-ins, I expect them to kick on. That is what we intend to do."
For once Ferguson was happy an international break interrupted the rhythm of domestic action. Although most of his players have been kept busy with various World Cup engagements, Ferguson managed to get away for a week's break in France while many of his coaching staff were able to put their feet up as well.
And that could prove vital as United look to stave off the renewed threat of Liverpool, who could be top by the time Aston Villa travel to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
"The lads have all been away to meet up with different players in a different situation and it was possibly the right time for that to come along," he said. "But sometimes the staff need it more than the players. It was great for me. I had a week's rest and I think we have all benefited."
Ferguson certainly looked a picture of health. And he is clearly very focused, too, judging by the way he refused to discuss any issue other than the performance of his own team.
The rare occurrence of successive defeats has admittedly provided plenty to think about, although the United manager feels it has only toned down some over-the-top assessments of his team.
"We have had quite a humdrum time in terms of going to Japan [for the Club World Cup], catching up the leaders and then listening to all the nonsense about how good we are," he reflected. "I have tried to dampen things down and dismiss all the talk about five trophies. Then the job is done by Fulham's result."
Ferguson did welcome son Darren and his Peterborough team to United's Carrington training ground this morning so they could prepare for tomorrow's visit to nearby Oldham. However, his major task for the day will be finding out whether Carlos Tevez has any physical scars to go with the mental ones suffered during Argentina's six-goal mauling by Bolivia.
As Wayne Rooney is suspended, along with Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic, and Dimitar Berbatov's ankle injury picked up at Craven Cottage a fortnight ago will keep him out for a further two weeks, Ferguson needs Tevez fit.
Yet the striker was not due back from South America until late this afternoon, one of the major reasons why Ferguson snubbed the chance to play Villa at lunchtime tomorrow. Instead, he decided to stick with Sunday even though United must now play twice in 48 hours as Porto arrive for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final.
"It was quite straightforward," revealed Ferguson. "If we were to play on the Saturday it would have to be lunchtime, which was crazy. As usual, TV have not done us any favours. We have spoken about it time after time but there is nothing you can do about it.
"It would have been a big task to play at lunchtime. With the extra day's rest I am relatively confident we can get a fit team on the pitch."
