Manchester United defender Phil Jones admits Sir Alex Ferguson is drumming into them not to get carried away with their Premier League lead.

United sit top of the table six points clear.

Jones said: "We're in a fantastic position and it's exactly where you want to be at this stage.

"The manager talks a lot about the Christmas period being one of the toughest spells of the season and that it's vital to be in a strong position at the turn of the year.

"But last season was my first at United and I experienced something I'd never experienced before - you learn that it's never, ever, over. The last time we played Sunderland, on the last day of the season with the title at stake, you went from high to low in the space of about 10 seconds.

"We thought we'd done it and then we hadn't. It was a miserable afternoon, but the manager told us, 'always remember this feeling and don't let it happen again'.

"You've got to learn from it, even though it hurt at the time. And it's a harsh learning curve, but I think we've bounced back from that, got over it and started the season really well.

"We got a real impetus from winning the derby. We had to try and eradicate that feeling of disappointment of losing out on the title, but that feeling will only fully be gone if we pick up that trophy at the end of the season."