Ferguson’s last act as United manager will be to lift the Premier League trophy that his team have reclaimed from neighbours Manchester City.
City hope to make up for that disappointment by winning the FA Cup for the second time in three years against Wigan at Wembley tomorrow. And Toure hopes Ferguson’s departure will trigger a downturn in fortunes at Old Trafford which will play into the hands of their local rivals.
‘United are a great club and Ferguson is a big character at the club,’ said City’s Ivory Coast midfielder. ‘He has built everything at United and the balance I hope will go to the City side now.
‘We will see next year because there will be a lot of rivalry between Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and United. Tottenham is coming through and the Premier League is going to be very, very tough.’
Toure scored a crucial goal to give City victory over United in the FA Cup semi-final two years ago, and returned to Wembley a month later to strike again when Roberto Mancini’s side picked up the club’s first trophy in 35 years by beating Stoke.
Toure goes back there tomorrow determined to overcome relegation-threatened Wigan and ensure City do not finish the season empty-handed after relinquishing their title to United and making an early exit from the Champions League.
‘We let the Premier League trophy go to United and now we want to win this one,’ added Toure, who signed a new four-year deal last month. ‘Every year is important for us because we want this to be a big club.
‘It is very important to keep winning trophies and that is why I signed a new contract. I want to be part of the history of the club. We have already started that and won some trophies.
‘I hope there are going to be more, like the Champions League and the Premier League, like the FA Cup.
‘But it is going to be difficult because we can’t think Wigan will let the trophy go just because of the situation they are in now in the Premier League.’
Superstitious City skipper Vincent Kompany admits he dare not even visualise himself holding aloft the famous trophy in case he puts a jinx on his team.Kompany was lifting the Premier League trophy 12 months ago but is taking nothing for granted against a Wigan side who have proved on many occasions they can match the best teams in the top flight on their day.
‘The part of it that I have thought about the least is lifting the trophy,’ said Kompany. ‘It’s partly because I don’t want to bring bad luck on myself because in the end it might be someone else holding the cup.
‘We are playing against Wigan and we have been warned already that we will need a serious game plan to defeat them. It will be far from easy and anyone who saw our game at the Etihad will understand why.
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