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By Pete Oliver
MANCHESTER, England, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Champions Manchester United have little margin for error in their pursuit of another Premier League title, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday ahead of their trip to Newcastle United on Saturday (1715 GMT).
United's derby defeat by Manchester City in their last league game almost a fortnight ago has seen them slip five points behind leaders Arsenal, while their advantage over Chelsea in third is down to three points.
"We are in a position where we can't afford many slip-ups now," Ferguson told reporters. "I think there will be points dropped but we have to now motor on and get a good consistency about us and hope that our immediate opponents drop points.
"You know that some points will be dropped and I think Arsenal and Chelsea are quite well aware of that. The name of the game is to make sure you don't drop as many as them."
United go to St James' Park a little over a month since beating Newcastle 6-0 at Old Trafford with all six goals coming in a second-half deluge.
POPULAR FIGURE
Newcastle have since appointed Kevin Keegan as manager for a second time but the former England coach, a popular figure on Tyneside, is yet to spark a revival with just two points and two goals coming from his first four league games in charge.
It is a far cry from just over a decade ago when Keegan and Ferguson went head-to-head for the 1995/96 championship.
At one point, Newcastle led United by 12 points but lost the title to Ferguson's side in a famous run-in in which Ferguson appeared to win a battle of mind games.
Ferguson insisted that aspect of the rivalry had been overplayed and said he had a good relationship with Keegan, who also had a spell as manager of Manchester City.
"I haven't spoken to him for ages. He has been out of the game for three years. But I have always got on well with Kevin and I look forward to seeing him," Ferguson said.
Keegan got a small measure of revenge the following season when Newcastle beat United 5-0 at St James' Park but in the last 16 games between the two clubs Newcastle have won just once.
United have a clean bill of health with Ryan Giggs recovering from a minor knee injury sustained in their mid-week Champions League draw in Lyon.
