From The Observer’s Sport Magazine:
"Of course I won't be able to watch the Rock at the Breeders' Cup because we have a game at home to Aston Villa that day,"
"We applied to have the game postponed because it comes in the middle of a particularly bad European schedule.
"We arrive back from Greece at five o'clock on Thursday morning, then fly to Cyprus on the Sunday.
"If the league had allowed us to postpone the Villa game I could have flown to Chicago to watch the Breeders' Cup but it would have been a delicate situation for me, because the media would have accused me of not being interested in football.
"Though all things being equal, nobody could accuse me of not being interested in football, having been involved in it for 28 years.
"In fact, I'd say over the last few years my interest in racing has helped me with my football, it's kept me fresh for United."