Rio Ferdinand has said Manchester United face 11 cup finals in their bid to retain the Premier League title after they moved back within two points of Manchester City.
United made it 22 points from the last 24 on offer with a 3-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, their toughest fixture on paper until their 30 April showdown with City. They appear to have the easier buildup to what could well be a title decider at the Etihad Stadium, but Ferdinand is taking nothing for granted.
"All we have ever said is to keep putting points on the board," the defender said. "Our last two away games have shown the professionalism in the camp and that has been fantastic. We have to continue that. We have big games coming up. Each game will be like a cup final. I know that's a cliche but it's true."
City have been unable to shake United off and know they may have to keep picking up maximum points to avoid being overtaken by their rivals in the coming weeks.
Ferdinand added: "We have just got to keep winning games. If we do that, we will put pressure on the other teams. It is about keeping our own house in order and making sure we remain resilient and keep putting points on the board."
Resilience is something United have shown in their last two games, scoring a stoppage-time winner at Norwich before producing a classic smash-and-grab victory at White Hart Lane.
"It was a huge win for us because this was one of the games people probably expected us to drop points in," Ferdinand said. "It is tough stadium to play at and Spurs are a very good team now, so we had to come and produce a good performance. I thought our performance was very professional.
"At half-time, the manager told us to go out and play a bit better than we had done in the first half because we hadn't really played at all. It was more or less a backs-to-the-wall display in the first half but we nicked a goal before half-time and set ourselves up for the second half."
That second period witnessed two sublime finishes from Ashley Young, who is showing the sort of form he displayed earlier in the season.
"It is fantastic to see Ashley Young back," Ferdinand said. "He has been injured and it takes you a couple of games to get back into the groove. Before his injury, he was flying and now it looks like he is back into form. It wasn't just his goals, it was his all-round work ethic.
United won the title last year despite struggling away from home but, ominously for City, they have already doubled their tally this season with 10 victories on the road.
Ferdinand joked: "The secret is doing the opposite to last season! Last season, I don't know what it was. It could have been complacency, expecting to win games, rather than at the moment where we are being very professional. We are making ourselves hard to beat and we have players on the break who can beat anybody."