LET ‘BATTLE' COMMENCE

Whatever the personal history between Sir Alex Ferguson and Gordon Strachan, the time for discussing who was wrong and who was right was never going to come before a match as momentous as a Champions League encounter between Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic.

With Battle of Britain headlines being brought out of hibernation, Ferguson and Strachan acknowledged last night that it was too big an occasion for their difficult relationship to be anything other than a small sub-plot.

Seventeen years have passed since Strachan last worked with Ferguson and whatever they now make of each other - and few will believe Strachan's take that everything is sweetness and light - both men are entitled to argue it should not have any consequence when the two teams face each other in a competitive match for the first time.

Of far more importance to Ferguson was the news that Park Ji-sung, Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar were unable to take part in a full training session yesterday. Strachan, meanwhile, should be more pre-occupied about the return of Wayne Rooney rather than questions about whether the man in the opposite dugout will shake his hand at the final whistle (answer: yes).

"I don't have a feud with anyone in football," Strachan said. "If you did your homework you would know that the last time I spoke to Alex we spent 40 minutes talking about football, laughing and joking. I'm finished with that now."

Ferguson replied on a similar theme. "I've nothing to say about that. If you want to know about the social aspects of my life, you should speak to some other people. I'm here to talk about a football match."

It was only when the questions returned to Strachan at the end of the press conference that he briefly let his guard down. Ferguson was asked whether he could see an element of himself in his former player. "Not really," he replied, before jokily adding: "I hope not, anyway."

Strachan's also quoted:

“The last time we saw each other we spoke for 40 minutes about football, families and other things. If we have anywhere near the relationship we are supposed to have then that doesn't happen.”

Also from the Guardian….

Chris Turner:

“When you play for Sir Alex Ferguson you find out very quickly that you have to take the rough with the smooth. Those who couldn't went under, but he knew the players who could take it and Gordon Strachan was definitely one of them.

“A lot of things have been said about their relationship at Manchester United but I have to say some of it has been taken out of context. People have talked about a feud existing but from where I was watching there was no such thing.

“I was a neighbour of Gordon's when we were Old Trafford team-mates and I drove in with him every day to The Cliff, the old training ground. We used to chat in the car and he had a hell of a lot of respect for Alex. It wasn't fear. It was respect, as simple as that.

“I was surprised that Alex was so scathing about Gordon in his autobiography and I can only think that something must have happened in private. In the dressing room it certainly wasn't the case that they were forever arguing. From what I saw they shared a mutual respect. They're both winners and they both wanted success so badly.”

Billy Stark, ex-Aberdeen:

“It is no wonder that Gordon and Sir Alex are still held in such high regard by the people of Aberdeen because what they did at the club will never be repeated.

“If anyone looks at which individuals have contributed most to Aberdeen's history then Sir Alex must be at the top of the list by a long stretch. I'd imagine he always will be. But if he looks back on what he has achieved he will undoubtedly regard Gordon as a big player for him, and whatever spats have taken place since those days there remains a deal of respect between the two.

“That respect is shown by the fact that Sir Alex was so upset by Gordon's serving of notice that he wanted to leave Pittodrie. Freedom of contract had just been introduced and managers such as Sir Alex weren't used to players signalling their intent to move. He took a similarly dim view of Eric Black's move to Metz a couple of years later. I think Sir Alex viewed the decisions as a betrayal.

“Gordon was a similar character then to what he is nowadays; he had real wit and a cutting sense of humour. People speak about a constant personality clash between Gordon and Sir Alex but it must be remembered that these guys got to the top at home and abroad together; there are emotional clashes at every club and both men had an enormous will to win.”