Fergie Takes Swipe At Hughes And City

Sir Alex Ferguson has come out firing following Mark Hughes' claim that he Manchester City - Chelsea clash has become a bigger fixture than Manchester United against Liverpool on the same day.

"I had better check what Mark has had for his breakfast because something must be upsetting him," scoffed Ferguson.

"How many games did he play for United against Liverpool? Our game is the biggest. It is a great game."

The fact is that the 'Clash of the Cash' set for Saturday tea-time, by which time the outcome of the Anfield clash will be known, is a sell-out at Eastlands, despite being shown live on Setanta Sports. And the pre-match interest from the media is so great that the venue of Hughes' scheduled press conference has had to be moved to the stadium to accommodate the high number journalists and film crews eager to catch it.

A record attendance is expected at Eastlands where the home fans will have heir first opportunity to greet news of the new regime, plus Robinho, and welcome back popular winger Shaun-Wright Phillips - coincidentally sold back to City by Chelsea.

Sir Alex uncharacteristically held his tongue when reports broke that newly mega-wealthy City are already plotting to prise Cristiano Ronaldo away with a January bid that would gazump the current world record, but now he has come out swinging.

"There has been a lot of talk but it is a different matter when it actually comes to getting those players," added the Scot.

"To think they could get Cristiano Ronaldo for instance is absolutely absurd.

"Negotiations are not easy nowadays, as we found with Dimitar.

"Yes, we have bought big players, but Manchester United is not a cash cow, as people are talking about other clubs at the moment.

"At the moment it is all talk. We have seen it before and it will happen again.

"It depends how much money they want to throw at it but even then it doesn't always work," he was keen to point out.

"You can buy 11 individuals and not have a team as Sunderland proved.

"When Chelsea did it we worried because we saw the quality they were bringing in. They got Michael Essien for £27million, which was a level we could not reach.

"You could tell they would be a handful.

"It is very difficult to say what will happen with City but we should not concern ourselves with what people are planning to do because it does not always work."

Ferguson concluded by insisting that United is built to rise to any threat.

"There is always a challenge at this club," he continued.

"Four years ago when Jose Mourinho went to Chelsea it represented a different challenge from Arsenal.

"They were the new kids on the block and we had to reassess our approach. We accepted the challenge.

"What you see here today has not been created overnight.

"This club has been built up over many years and will be here for a long time."

Derek Wanner, Goal.com