Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was still bristling yesterday over Roberto Mancini's "lucky" jibe.

The Manchester City manager has declared United fortunate to be 15 points clear at the top of the table.

Ferguson snapped: "Really, it's a fruitless exercise to argue which team is lucky and which unlucky, because to my mind we all share in the lottery of chance and over a long haul, it evens itself out.

"I must say, though, that I am reminded of a top golfer's reply to someone who suggested that he was lucky.

"He said: 'It's a funny thing, but the more I practise, the luckier I seem to get!'

"Gary Player is reputed to have come up with that comment, though some attribute it to Arnold Palmer, but whichever of them said it first, it's spot on and it's similar with Manchester United's 'luck,' scoring late goals.

"Only it's not so much luck as something programmed into the DNA of our players. It's in our history. We won the treble, especially the Champions League final, with late goals.

"But that wasn't luck - it was because that bunch of players didn't know when to quit.

"Our history tells you that happily it is something that has always been there. It seems to get handed down from one generation to the next and our present group of players have certainly taken on board the fact that they will compete to the very end of every match.

"Our current guys are particularly imbued with the right attitude."