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from manutd.com

So, another round of games have moved on over Easter and United are getting closer and closer. Everybody's doing their sums at the moment, trying to work out when it could all be over. But remember, Tottenham were going swimmingly and have hit a bad run. That can happen to teams.

That's where all the experience we've talked about before that the manager and his backroom staff have is vital. The supporters play their part, too. I'm sure the away end at Wigan will be full of United fans behind the left-hand goal as we look at it from the TV gantry and they'll make it like a home game. I thought Sir Alex's substitutions were excellent at Blackburn to turn around what could've been, at 0-0 on 80 minutes, a 1-0 loss. To win it 2-0 must have been seen by the team as a huge step.

I talked about that Blackburn game as being the most difficult game United had left outside of the derby itself and it proved that way. It'll be similar at Wigan as they embark on the same survival strategy. Blackburn worked very hard and pushed United all the way, but the best teams come through those situations and that will be the challenge again for United on Wednesday.

I've seen a bit of Wigan recently and they've got a way of playing that can be very successful for them. Playing three at the back gives them the chance to spring forward and the only thing they find hard to do is score enough goals to reward the quality of the approach play.

I saw them at Norwich recently and they probably deserved to win. It finished 1-1 but they had a great chance at the end of the match. I watched the game at Chelsea, too, and they played extremely well but didn't get the breaks. Wigan are very well organised and try to play and I'm sure United will know exactly what they have got to contend with. Wigan have a lot to play for and you can't under-estimate anybody who's on a crusade; they certainly believe they're good enough to stay up. They won at Liverpool this season and their results have been pretty good recently. Once you're down at the wrong end of the table, though, it's very hard to get out.

Of course, we all watched Manchester City lose away to Arsenal last weekend in what was always going to be a hard game. I worked there at the Carling Cup tie between the two teams and City won that one but they had a stronger side out than Arsenal and it was a very tight and tense game before Sergio Aguero scored late on. I also covered the league game last year that finished 0-0 and it was very much like the game on Sunday. This time, obviously, there was the wrong kind of sting in the tail for City.

I'm sure the City players want to fight tooth and nail and get every point they can now to at least make United still work for it later in the month and going into May. There's always a chance something may go wrong and you've still got to believe it will. But I'm sure it wasn't a lack of belief that made them lose at the Emirates. City have made some mistakes this season, just as United have. It's just that City haven't got away with theirs as much. I was at Fulham on Monday night and was mindful that City were 2-0 up there when they were winning every game in September. It finished 2-2. Just think what they'd give for those two points now...

Everybody thinks United are eight points clear and will win it but the same people were happy to say City would be champions earlier in the campaign. It's better to be in that position at this stage of the season, obviously, but it's never over until it's over. City need to show strength of character now, as West Brom - their next opponents - have played very well in away games and are by no means pushovers. They'll be full of determination and Roy Hodgson's attention to detail is second to none in the way he organises his teams. West Brom won't be going to the Etihad thinking they're nice and safe now. They'll want to take advantage of how they find City but, while I was not surprised they were beaten at Arsenal, I would be surprised if City do not beat the Baggies.

It's easy to go off generalisations but I've learned over the years to just wait until everything is confirmed. If you go to a match and a club needs to win to clinch the championship, then you can talk about the reality of it. Until that happens, although United are in the box seat, it is also still theirs to lose. But the unpredictability of football - and we've seen plenty evidence of that this season - tells us we mustn't get ahead of ourselves.