Manchester United fear they are beginning to suffer the consequences of Alex Ferguson's involvement in an acrimonious legal dispute with the club's majority shareholders.
United were forced to issue a statement last night to deny tabloid allegations of a boardroom split about rewarding Ferguson with a new contract, a story the manager and other Old Trafford officials suspect was leaked, if not directly by John Magnier and JP MacManus, then by associates of the Irish businessmen.
Ferguson believes he is the victim of a campaign to smear his reputation, describing the story in yesterday's Daily Mirror as "absolute nonsense" and making it clear where, in his opinion, the finger of suspicion should point.
"Apparently, the suggestion is it came from Ireland," he said. "I've spoken to David Gill (the chief executive) and he has assured me there is no split whatsoever. I think it's mischief-making." Ferguson's version of events was then corroborated by a representative of the board, although the matter is deemed too sensitive for Gill or any of the directors to go on public record. The men in power at Old Trafford are in an invidious and extremely tricky situation, running a business where the most important employee is suing the two multi-millionaires who, through their Cubic Expression company, hold 24.24 per cent of the shares.
Ferguson is in dispute with Magnier over the ownership of stud rights to the racehorse Rock Of Gibraltar. A court case in Dublin is looming and for anyone trying to undermine Ferguson, the Mirror is a pretty reliable vehicle having adopted an anti-United policy under its editor Piers Morgan, a confirmed Arsenal fan.
Magnier and McManus are also reported to have hired a security firm, Kroll, to look into Ferguson's life and it remains a possibility that their ultimate ambition is to launch a takeover of the club, a move that would almost certainly precipitate the manager's departure.
For the time being, however, all the evidence suggests Magnier and McManus have been accumulating shares purely for investment purposes and that, if there is a takeover, it will come from elsewhere. That will be of considerable relief to Ferguson, who seemed calm and relaxed yesterday. He insisted "there was no bone of contention" about the length or nature of the contract but there are some minor complications, with Ferguson admitting the club are "not really sure" how to structure it.
An extension of two or three years was originally mooted, but Ferguson believes there is also logic in a rollover deal that means he always has 12 months of his contract ahead of him. More importantly, Ferguson wants his planned retirement date to remain confidential. This stems from his experiences two seasons ago - when he originally planned to step down as manager at Old Trafford - which he blamed for "unsettling" his players and Arsenal winning the league. If he signed a fixed contract to 2005, for example, he believes the same might happen.
Meanwhile, Ferguson welcomes back skipper Roy Keane and goalkeeper Tim Howard for today's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.The pair were rested for the midweek Champions League win over Stuttgart.
City manager Kevin Keegan has David Seaman available after the former England goalkeeper was passed fit to play. Eyal Berkovic, Antoine Sibierski and Paul Bosvelt all impressed on reserve team duty in midweek and were added to the squad
