OK, WE DID HAVE A ROW

Sir Alex has admitted that he did have an argument with Roy Keane during the pre-season.

"Roy and I had a few words at our training camp in Portugal," revealed Ferguson. "But did he walk out?

"Did we come to blows? Of course not.

"We are both combustible characters and we are always having arguments.

"I wish I had a pound for every row I have had with Roy Keane. He cares and I care and, every so often, we clash in pursuit of our ambitions.

"That does not affect the respect I have for him and I do not think it lessens my standing as a manager in Roy Keane's eyes.

"I feel slightly stupid having to explain the background to all these petty disputes but the media make so much out of them, I cannot let them go unchallenged."

He also shed some light on Ruud and Rio's spat in the Far East.

"Rio probably felt Ruud had not made enough effort to move away from his marker in order to receive the ball," added Ferguson.

"Ruud, on the other hand, perhaps felt Rio had been too slow to give him the ball. Either way, it was one of those things which happens all the time in games and in training.

"It looked worse than it was but, in my book, there is nothing wrong with players feeling passionate about their performance and a result, even if it does end up in an argument."