Cheers, Jose! Fergie feels reborn with his ninth title

Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Arsenal, which followed Manchester United's 1-0 derby win at City on Saturday, gave Ferguson's team the title with two games to spare.

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It is their first Premiership crown since 2003 and the manager underlined his desire to remain in charge and oversee the continuing development of young stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Ferguson, 65, said: "It's easy to retire. I did it years ago and regretted it within days. Now I feel invigorated by the young players at the club and players like Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes turning out every week for me. It gives me the right vibes.

"I don't know how long I'll last now but I'm enjoying it. For Cristiano and Rooney, who haven't won a championship medal before, it's fantastic for them and you hope it brings things on for them.

"Winning the title any time is great but it's a new team. Chelsea have won it the last two years and spent a lot of money. We must have been six months at the top and that's not easy in the Premier League.

"You need that courage and determination to make sure you don't lose the lead.

"It got a bit tetchy in the second half of the season and I said there would be twists and turns. There were moments we carried luck, but every club who wins the championship has that."

Chelsea entertain United at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and are expected to give their opponents a guard of honour as they enter the field - just as United did for Mourinho's team at Old Trafford two seasons ago.

United are expected to be presented with the trophy before their final home game against West Ham next Sunday.

Ferguson added: "I went to see my grandson play this afternoon; they won their league and we won ours. Then I was twiddling thumbs. I watched the last 15 minutes at the Emirates and was in agony. My heart was in my mouth."

Mourinho, meanwhile, blamed Chelsea's failure to retain the title on Stamford Bridge's underachievers, with outcasts Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko seemingly in mind.

He said: "I can guarantee that we will be ready next season. This is a game for people who want to succeed in this Chelsea - Mr Abramovich's Chelsea.

"Somebody who wants to succeed in this dressing-room needs to watch this game a couple of times to understand why somebody has success in this group and why other people have no success."

"If you go to any club and analyse player-by-player the contribution made and decide the player of the season then some people have 20,000 votes, some have 20 and some have no votes so it's obvious."

Mourinho reluctantly conceded the title to Ferguson but refused to accept that United were the best team.

He said: "It doesn't matter who is better. What matters is that they are the team with more points and are champions mathematically."