Bayern Munich's coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said unequivocally last night that he would not be tempted by the opportunity to follow Alex Ferguson to Old Trafford next year.

Despite being the choice of Ferguson, the chairman Martin Edwards and the majority of Manchester United's plc board, Hitzfeld said he wanted to see out a contract which ties him to the European Cup holders for the next three years.

"I'm very flattered and honoured to be in the headlines like this, but I've said before that I have never broken a contract in my life and I will say it again," he said on the eve of Bayern's Champions League match against United here.

"I'm contracted until 2004 and I'm certainly not going to break this agreement. I have the perfect job with Bayern and there is still work to complete. I'm going to honour my contract, maybe then take a year off, get some rest and reassess things. As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of the discussion."

While these denials should usually be viewed with suspicion, Hitzfeld is renowned as being a man of his word and the 52-year-old could hardly have been more categorical.

Any faint chance of United persuading him to change his mind will be further complicated by the news yesterday that Bayern are already making plans for when his present deal runs out.

"I would like Ottmar to be with us for the rest of his working life," said the club's president Franz Beckenbauer.

"He's the best coach we have ever had and there is a new contract waiting for him to sign. If he doesn't want to continue with coaching we will create a new role where he doesn't spend every day on the pitch but would still be involved in the tactics. He's certainly not going anywhere else, I can guarantee that."

Alternatively, it will not have escaped Hitzfeld's attention that, by 2004, Germany may be looking for a coach to oversee their World Cup campaign on home soil two years later.

Hitzfeld had been the most prominent name on a short-list including Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi, along with Sven-Goran Eriksson.

There is only minimal support for Arsene Wenger, David O'Leary and Martin O'Neill.

The German's statement dominated the build-up to the opening night of the Champions League's second phase and an encounter in which United desperately need to reassert themselves in Europe.

Despite refusing to speak to the press in England, Ferguson was required under UEFA rules to hold a news conference here last night.

"I think Bayern are the strongest team in Europe at present, whereas I don't think we are playing well," he said. I'm just hoping this game kick-starts our season. I think the players had their last wake-up call losing at Liverpool.

"I questioned the players' work-rate then and it will have to be back to the optimum here. In games like this, there is no hiding place."

Denis Irwin admitted that Ferguson's harsh words were justified, and said the players have worked extremely hard in training over the last fortnight to cut out the mistakes and put things right. He insisted their desire to succeed was as strong as ever.

"We didn't perform anywhere near to our potential against Liverpool. We just didn't seem to win the 50/50s or get to the second balls, which disappointed us an awful lot.

"We're always a team that works hard in training, but after that defeat the appetite in training over the last two weeks has been massive to get things right.

"Since the opening day of the season against Fulham, we have conceded goals down to individual schoolboy errors right up to the game against Liverpool.

"When we start cutting those kind of goals out then we will look more solid and feel more solid."

BAYERN MUNICH (4-3-3): Kahn; Sagnol, Kuffour, Kovac, Lizarazu; Salihamidzic, Effenberg, Fink; Paulo Sergio, Pizarro, Elber.

MANCHESTER UNITED (probable; 4-4-1-1): Barthez; G Neville, Brown, Blanc, Irwin; Beckham, Keane, Veron, Giggs; Scholes; Van Nistelrooy.

Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).