League is more important than Europe, says Evra

The Red Devils won their 16th league title by edging out previous champions Chelsea in the last campaign and they currently sit behind leaders Arsenal purely on goals scored.

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Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who this week celebrated 21 years in charge at Old Trafford, has said he would like to win the Champions League for a second time to go with his famous success of 1999.

The side have begun that quest well by qualifying for the knockout stages with two group matches still to go after comfortably beating Dynamo Kiev 4-0 in midweek.

However, Evra said that while their bid for European glory appeared to be well on track, domestic dominance remained the driving force in the Old Trafford dressing room.

And after seeing the Gunners snatch a 90th-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates Evra expects an even tougher test at home to Blackburn tomorrow.

Rovers have not lost away in the Premier League since they were beaten 4-1 by United in March and have been defeated only once in 16 league matches stretching back to last season.

"It will be a very hard game at the weekend. I think maybe more hard than Arsenal," the 26-year-old told PA Sport.

"Blackburn are a strong team and physically you have to be ready for this game.

"It is very important to concentrate on the league. Before the [Kiev] game everyone talked about us needing to win so we can concentrate on the Premier League.

"I went to the Champions League final with Monaco (losing to Porto in 2004) and I want to win that trophy but this year I want to win the Premier League first.

"It is the priority because you need to confirm your trophy. It is unbelievable to win the Premier League. It is one of the best leagues in the world and last year I was so happy."

Despite Evra's insistence that Rovers will pose a problem tomorrow he still believes United's main rivals for the title remain the other members of the big four - despite Manchester City and Portsmouth currently occupying elevated positions in the table,

December 16 is a potentially pivotal day in the season as the quartet clash at the same time, with Liverpool hosting United and Arsenal travelling to Stamford Bridge.

The Frenchman believes these matches play a significant part in deciding the outcome of the title, and he dismissed the critics who have written off Chelsea's chances of a third Premier League crown in four seasons after the departure of Jose Mourinho.

"I think this year it is very hard to win the title and we need to beat our rivals for psychological reasons," said the £5.5million signing from Monaco in January 2006.

"We have the team to win the title again but you have Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.

"Everyone says Chelsea are dead because Mourinho has gone but it is the players on the pitch not Mourinho."

United have rattled in 22 goals in their last six matches - in five games they scored four times - and Evra said that was down to the vast array of attacking talent at Ferguson's disposal.

"This year the squad is more strong, we have a lot of quality players," he said.

"With (Carlos) Tevez, (Wayne) Rooney, (Louis) Saha, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, Nani and (Ryan) Giggs we know we can score every game."

Rooney has been ruled out for four weeks with an ankle injury sustained in training yesterday while Gary Neville (calf) is still unlikely to figure despite having made a comeback in the reserves.