SOCCER:AFTER 11 league titles Alex Ferguson should be immune to nerves but, as he prepared for the climax of a season he feels instinctively will be settled on the final afternoon, he offered a rare glimpse into his emotions in the final hour before a match kicks off.
At Old Trafford, the Manchester United manager has his office in which to collect his thoughts but away games, such as the one at Bolton this evening, offer no kind of refuge.
“It is probably the time when the players are doing their warm-up that you feel on your own because your staff are out there doing their jobs,” he said.
“It is all right at home because you have your office, but, away from home, there is always that killing time, walking about and sitting in your dressing-room or whatever.”
And, as Ferguson remarked, time seems to seep away before a 5.30pm kick-off more slowly than any other.
Ferguson may have mellowed slightly with age. Should Bolton win, he is unlikely to describe their performance as “obscene”, as he did when a West Ham side careering towards relegation fatally derailed Manchester United’s attempt at the title in 1992.
However, three years ago he still managed to get himself sent to the stands by Mark Clattenburg during a 1-0 defeat at the Reebok Stadium.
“Some people don’t show it but deep down inside they are all churning like the rest of us,” Ferguson said.
“That is what the game does to you. The thing, I think, for managers is the win, lose or draw situation. You are in to win and you can’t lose too many or you lose your job. There is no one in the game more directly responsible for results than the manager.
“No matter which way you look at it, we are all subject to winning games of football and, if we are not, we are on the dole line.
“Players carry on, coaches carry on, directors carry on, journalists carry on.”
Yesterday, Ferguson appeared supremely relaxed. Nani, a footballer he had once chided for his immaturity but who has grown up considerably since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Real Madrid, had agreed a new four-year contract. The Red Knights, the group of investors including a few men Ferguson knows well who are attempting to wrest control of United from the Glazer family, announced they would suspend any bid until the summer. This, at least, would spare the manager any further questions on where he stood on the matter.
Ryan Giggs's revelation to the Western Mailthat he would consider returning to international duty with Wales was met with a guffaw that the paper "had caught Ryan at a weak moment".
After Chelsea’s failure to win at Blackburn last Sunday, United are masters of their own destiny.
“On paper, Arsenal have the easier run-in but I don’t think it matters who you play at this time of year because you can drop points to anyone,” Ferguson said.
“I have been trying to work out the run-ins and what the eventuality will be. I can’t see anything other than it going to the last game, unless somebody blows up. On the final day, we are all at home. Arsenal have got Fulham, Chelsea have Wigan and, if we have to win our home game (against Stoke) to win the title, then I’d be happy with that.”
However, he was irked that whereas Rio Ferdinand had been given an additional one-match ban for a “frivolous” appeal against his three-game suspension for elbowing Hull’s Craig Fagan, Arsenal’s centre-half, Thomas Vermaelen, had not been similarly punished when his appeal failed following his dismissal against West Ham.
“It is so inconsistent,” Ferguson said. “Only the FA can answer that and they don’t come out with a report do they? It is in the chambers of their minds.”
