Soccer: Alex Ferguson is so relaxed about the Premiership title race he says he will not even bother watching Arsenal's must-win encounter with Leeds tomorrow.
The Manchester United boss sends his team into action against Charlton this afternoon knowing victory will take them eight points clear at the top of the table and force the mis-firing Gunners to win successive home games next week just to keep their challenge alive until the final day of the season.
Yet even if the team stands on the brink of glory, Ferguson, who was famously on the golf course with son Jason when informed of his first championship triumph with United in 1993, will not snub a prior engagement - at his grandson's birthday party.
"I don't think I'll be watching Sunday's match," he told the club's website, www.manutd.com "I've got my grandson's birthday, so I'll be at the party."
There may be room for some champagne amid the jelly and trifle if results go United's way this weekend, particularly as Ferguson has suggested an eighth Premiership crown would represent the greatest domestic achievement of his 16-year Old Trafford reign.
Having found themselves eight points adrift of Arsene Wenger's side at the beginning of March, United have swept to the top of the table and, after capitalising on Arsenal's failure to beat Bolton on Saturday by winning at Tottenham the following day, Ferguson knows a win today, followed by another triumph at Everton on May 11th, will seal the title no matter what.
And Ferguson believes it was the decision to send many of his players in for operations during the early stages of the season which has provided the key to a scintillating recent run of form which has seen them win seven of their last eight league games, scoring 23 goals in the process.
Not that Ferguson is completely injury-free now, with England full back Gary Neville out for the remainder of the season after having a screw - originally inserted during surgery to mend the broken metatarsal which ruled him out of last season's run-in and the World Cup - removed from his foot.
Neville's brother Phil is also a doubt today after being ordered home from training with a sore throat, although John O'Shea and Juan Sebastian Veron are expected to be available after getting over recent knee injuries.
Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, fears Patrick Vieira will be ruled out of the rest of the season in the latest setback to Arsenal's hopes of recovering to win the double.
Vieira is joined on the sidelines for tomorrow's game by Fredrik Ljungberg (ankle), Edu (knee), Lauren (ankle), Pascal Cygan (calf) and Francis Jeffers (knee).
Sol Campbell is also suspended, while Gilberto Silva is still exhausted after a midweek friendly in Mexico with Brazil.
However, it is the absence of Vieira which will be most keenly felt, not only against Leeds but now almost certainly against Southampton and Sunderland also.
To make matters worse, the Frenchman could also be ruled out of the FA Cup final as his recovery from a knee injury is taking much longer than expected.
Wenger revealed: "There is a good chance Patrick's season is already finished, including the FA Cup final. The only thing I can say at the moment is he has not trained again yet."
Wenger did have cause to celebrate Thierry Henry's crowning as the undisputed player of the year. Henry, who has already been unveiled as the Professional Footballers' Association's choice, pipped Ruud van Nistelrooy to the Football Writers' Association award.
