Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping Manchester United's win in the Club World Cup will provide his players with a confidence boost.
United added the Club World Cup title to their 2008 haul of trophies with a 1-0 victory over Liga de Quito in Japan on Sunday.
The Premier League champions have arrived back in England ahead of the Boxing Day game at Stoke City, and Ferguson feels his players have coped well with the travelling.
The United boss was impressed by the performances in the Far East and acknowledged the lift his players have received from winning another trophy.
"There is no question that winning in Japan has given the club and the players a great boost," said Ferguson. "It was a great achievement.
"The most important thing is that the team played well, which was surprising really because a lot of the players found that their sleep patterns weren't quite so good over there.
"That proved a bit difficult, but nonetheless, the lads showed good enthusiasm during the games and good concentration, which was the key thing.
"We have come through it well and put in some good performances.
"After the game against Quito, the players had a great time together.
"We were up early the next morning to get away, so not many slept too well, but they had their time together and that was good for them."
Title rivals Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal all dropped points while United were away, and Ferguson is optimistic his team can close the gap at the top.
He said: "A similar thing happened when we went to Brazil for the world championship in 2000. While we were away, our title rivals Arsenal and Leeds both failed to get a win.
"I wasn't surprised that Arsenal and Liverpool drew with each other, but I was a bit worried about Chelsea going to Everton, simply because of Everton's record of not having won for 20 games against Chelsea.
"I would obviously rather be top on Christmas Day, but I always wanted to be close to the leaders going into the New Year and we have managed that.
"Teams chasing the title always drop points in March and April, even when you don't expect them to do so, and that will happen again this year.
"But we have nine games coming up in the next month and, fortunately, we have the squad to cope with that."
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