Fergie plea to fans

14 April 2012

Sir Alex Ferguson today said he was sure emotional Manchester United fans would not let down their club by disrupting Saturday's FA Cup Final at Cardiff.

The United manager, speaking publicly for the first time since Malcolm Glazer's takeover of the club, said he understood supporters' concerns about the unfolding dramas at Old Trafford.

Yet he insisted players, staff and fans of the club would put on "a united front" to focus their energies on what he believes could be one of the great Cup Finals against Arsenal.

Ferguson, though, would not comment about his own position or elaborate on his thoughts about the Glazer situation. Instead, he revealed he has other concerns about Saturday's game with firstchoice full-backs Gabriel Heinze and Gary Neville likely to miss the match through injury.

At a news conference at the club's Carrington training ground this morning, Ferguson said he wanted to make a statement regarding Glazer. It sounded like a plea to fans who are unhappy about the takeover not to take the disruptive action at the Millennium Stadium which has been threatened.

"Of course, fans are emotional and with the loyalty they've shown over the years, that's understandable. But I'm sure they won't let us down on Saturday," said Ferguson. "It's their big day too - they want us to win the Cup, therefore we've a United front on Saturday. It's Manchester United complete - support and players together to win this Cup.

"I don't think this is a time to be asking questions about the Glazer issue. In my job as Manchester United manager, my main concern has always been the team.

"When you're playing a Cup Final that focus has to be 100 per cent or you're not going to do your job properly. That applies to the players also.

"So everything is geared to Saturday for us and all the rest is peripheral. That way, we know we're going into the game properly prepared for a very important game."

Captain Roy Keane echoed his manager's sentiments, insisting: "I expect United fans to get behind us. They've always been fantastic and on Saturday I'm sure they'll show the support they always have."

Meanwhile, Glazer suffered his first blow as United's new owner today when the idea of a breakaway TV deal was dismissed by the European Commission.

EC competition spokesman Jonathan Todd said: "They might try to do that but there is no way we could become involved."

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