Nani has warned his Manchester United team-mates that they cannot afford to drop any more points against the lesser teams if they are to retain the Premier League title.
United travel to Newcastle on Wednesday night aiming to bounce back from their shock 3-2 defeat to Blackburn on New Year’s Eve.
The surprise loss to Steve Kean’s men prevented the Red Devils from starting 2012 as league leaders and Nani insists he and his team-mates must learn their lesson if they want to keep the pressure on rivals Manchester City.
He told the Daily Star: “If we want to fight for the Premier League title it’s impossible to repeat a defeat like the one against Blackburn.
“Things like that could decide the title at the end of the season. It was a negative day.
“But I think it represents a lesson for us and now we must not fail. It left a bitter taste in the dressing room.
“But now we have to bounce back against Newcastle. It won’t be easy but we are the champions and this squad is always out to win.
Second-placed United will once again be playing catch-up when they travel to the North East on Wednesday night after Man City opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table with victory over Liverpool on Tuesday.
But Nani remains confident that the Red Devils have the quality to overhaul their city rivals come the end of the season.
“If we were to go top of the league it would be a big blow to City because many people wrote us off after the 6-1 at Old Trafford,” he added.
“United have enough pride to still go on and win the league – we cannot afford to fail.”
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