Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is banning his players from watching Manchester City games.

United players were banned from watching Manchester City's match at Newcastle before the Reds took the field against Sunderland.

TVs were blanked out in United's dressing room as the Blues bounced back from their derby defeat to reduce the title gap to three points - if only for a couple of hours.

Reds defender Phil Jones said: "We didn't watch the City game beforehand - we weren't aware they had won, the gaffer would have been but we weren't.

"We just focus on the game - that's the gaffer's rules."