With the exception of a visit by Everton, United do not meet any more members of England's elite until April, when Manchester City head to Old Trafford. United can open up a seven-point lead if they beat Southampton and some Red Devils fans are beginning to think their team are going to cruise to a 20th championship.
Yet Ferguson cannot understand such an attitude. After all, it was a defeat at Wigan last term that cost United so dearly. "A glance at our next few fixtures and the Premier League table may have a few fans drooling because, with the exception of Everton, we have a run of matches against teams from the bottom half of the table," Ferguson told United Review.
"Some might feel this presents us with an opportunity to turn the screw and put our championship rivals under big pressure.
"I agree to the extent that we are at a vital stage of the season and that we must keep picking up points through the present busy period.
"But let's not fool ourselves into believing that we are now entering a phase against the lower teams that will present us with easy pickings.
"That would be a rubbish attitude and if we slip into that kind of attitude I can't think of an easier way to blunt our challenge, because there just aren't any easy games in this league of ours. On their day, teams can beat anyone.
"That is what happened to us last season with some surprising results during the run-in costing us the league title."
Source: PA