Van Persie hails United front men

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has thanked his team-mates for chipping in with goals during his ongoing drought.

The Dutchman has failed to find the net in seven consecutive outings for the Red Devils, and has scored just one goal in 10 games despite having netted 11 times in as many appearances prior to that run.

The 29-year-old admitted he is finding his barren spell tough, but said the goalscoring threats around him have taken the pressure off somewhat.

“I’m going through a difficult period and haven’t scored for seven games now,” he told NUsport.

“But my team-mates rose to the occasion. Shinji Kagawa netted a hat-trick, Wayne Rooney scored a number of goals. It’s nice to see that things don’t go wrong right away.”

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are 15 points ahead of rivals Manchester City in the Premier League table and, with just nine matches remaining, are in pole position to claim the title.

The former Arsenal man hailed the club’s strong position but insisted they must not become complacent, citing City’s dramatic comeback last season as reason to be wary.

“It is a great thing that I will probably win my first league title,” he said. “I am really pleased with it. But we are not there yet.

“We have a big lead, but there are still nine tough games to go. We still have away games against West Ham, Sunderland, (the FA Cup game against) Chelsea, and two matches versus City if we win that one.

“And then there’s Stoke. These games are not exactly friendlies. United were eight points clear or so last term with eight more games to go.

“So we have to take things one step at a time. We’re pretty close, though, and that’s very satisfying.”