SIR Alex Ferguson has vowed he will sign his new contract with Manchester United . . . delighting fans who feared he could be sacked.
The Reds have been at the centre of takeover talk after John Magnier upped his company's stake in the Premiership champions to more than 25 per cent - just short of the 30 per cent barrier that would force him to launch a formal bid for outright control of the club.
The Irish racing tycoon is locked in a bitter dispute with Fergie over stud fees for the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar, with both sides vowing to have the row settled in court. And that has created fears that the United boss could be forced out of Old Trafford if Magnier takes control.
But Sir Alex revealed to the Sunday Pink last night that, two months after being first handed the new contract, he has had another round of contract talks with chief executive David Gill and pledged that he will be signing a deal, possibly this week, which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2007. That will take Fergie past his 65th birthday and mean he has been at the helm for over 20 years.
Sir Alex told the Sunday Pink: "We were going over a few details on Friday morning, David Gill and I, and we are not far away and hopefully we can get it done quickly. The quicker we can get it signed the better. That's what I think, and David shares that view.
Nonsense
"There is a lot of nonsense being written. I don't concern myself over these things. Nothing has changed on the contract situation it's only the wee things we are talking about.
"We would like to get it done and put to bed, from my perspective and from the club's perspective because the publicity doesn't do anyone any good."
Contract talks have been delayed after a string of events. First there was the Rio Ferdinand drugs test hearing and resulting appeal which kept United's legal team tied up for weeks, then Gill was abroad on business and after the Christmas and New Year break, found himself tied up in negotiations to land Fulham star Louis Saha.
United have denied that the board of directors is using delaying tactics while it awaits the outcome of the dispute between Fergie and Magnier.
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Don't mix business and pleasure boys. What goes around comes around, so great move by Taggart to sue the major shareholder. I'm off to sell my shares to Ireland. And as for nepotism in transfer dealings, well thats another story.......
If united are loking for a quality
striker i am surprised why they have not made a move for Henrick Larrson. After all he has been quoted as saying that he wants to leave Celtic to play for a bigger club that stands a better chance of winning the Champions League
Sir Alex Ferguson will be forced out by Magnier latest by next month. RVN will refuse to renew his contract talk. Roy Keane will hang his boot at the end of this season. I hope all this are false news.
They have being saying for months he is going to sign, the problem is, Uniteds board is running scared and if they don,t put pen to paper soon for Van, he will be off why are the board so slow.
I say everything possible has to be done to get rid of Magnier and McManus before they do more harm to our beloved Man Utd. They are trying to get back at Sir Alex through the club and they should not be allowed to do it. If they have private qualms with Sir Alex they should deal with them outside OT. GET RID of THE VIRUS.
Anyone who has been involved in any contract talks, knows that at a certain point, all you have to do is sit down and hammer-out any reamining details. Much bigger deals than this have been resolved with greater swiftness. There is obviously a hold-up.
The delay is puzzling and I consider the Irish boys actions the worst threat to the club since Ron Atkinson was manager.
The latest move re their inquiry to past dealings shows us the money boys don't give a toss about the club. Ego and greed are what they are all about and the sooner they find a buyer for their shares, take their profit and run, the sooner we will all sleep easier.
Even Khaled will agree with me on this one.
Happy Robbie Burns day to you all.
Well if this is true,than I am very happy,because this thing with Magnier has had me worried a while.
The sooner Sir Alex can put pen to paper the better.
And congrats with the victory in the cup.
not really relieved. I think SAF has a tremendous drive to get the results the fans want. On the other hand I think his tactical knowledge is mediocre.
There would be more managers succesfull with this magnificent club, not in the leat because of the financial resources
let's keep the horse business out of this...
The sooner he signs the better - AF is the cornerstone of the club, and his personal outlook and honesty is a true reflection on the attributes that have made MUFC no. 1.
It doesn't sound like a done deal even if SAF does sign. It looks like the horse people are going to pursue this to the bitter end with their baseless insinuations, and it does make sense to them - the financial value of the stud fee issue is worth at least 50p on United's share price and I bet they figure that United could attract a top quality replacement manager anyway. To my mind though, settling their scores by using my club in this way is unforgivable and I would feel that even if I had major doubts over SAF as our manager. It is now McManus and Goonier against the 52 million - I hope for their sake every single one of their horse dealings are whiter than white because there are a fair number of United supporting journalists in amongst the rest of the ABUs. Perhaps local fans to their stables could blockade the roads out and ensure the Rock's seed, or any of their horses, are going nowhere. Seriously, any legal means of blocking these guys is fair game to me now - lets find something, anything, to make it not worth their while to pursue things any further in this manner.