Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United can take a giant step towards regaining the Premier League title if they win this month's crunch clashes against Arsenal and Chelsea.
United moved two points clear at the top of the table last weekend after Chelsea's latest stumble at Newcastle dropped them to second place and Ferguson's side can extend that lead with victory over the champions and then Arsenal in the coming weeks.
The third placed Gunners, who are also two points behind United, visit Old Trafford on December 13, with United's trip to Stamford Bridge following six days later. And as Arsenal and Chelsea meet themselves on December 27, Ferguson accepts it is going to be a crucial period.
"You always want to win those games because they are really significant," Ferguson told Inside United.
"We have managed to claw ourselves into a position where we are two points ahead of Chelsea, so the game at Stamford Bridge and Arsenal's trip to Manchester will certainly be very important, there's no doubt about that.
"We saw that last season - some big decisions didn't go our way in the two matches against Chelsea and they ended up costing us important points."
A foul by Didier Drogba on Wes Brown was missed by the referee as John Terry scored the winner for Chelsea against United at Stamford Bridge last season, while a Drogba goal at Old Trafford later in the season was shown to be offside.