FERGIE CONTRACT WRANGLES SORTED

Last updated : 17 December 2003 By Editor

From the Sun:

Alex Ferguson is determined to keep his Manchester United stars guessing over the terms of his new contract.

SunSport understands Fergie will commit himself to just TWO years for definite and then have a one-year rolling deal after that. Fergie aims finally to sign the deal this week.

The agreement has been delayed because of wrangles over its structure and length. United’s plc board would probably prefer more certainty as to how long he will stay.

But the Old Trafford boss is determined not to make the same mistakes as when he announced his retirement.

In his ‘final’ season two years ago the players’ form suffered and some even started to take liberties. This time he wants to keep his departure date a secret so the deal will be back-dated to the start of this season.

Fergie’s wages will shoot up from £3.5million a year to £5m and will stay at that for every season he wants to keep the job after next season. His aim is to do four years and complete a total of 21 in the United hot-seat by 2007.

But the terms of his contract mean that is not certain so the players will be kept guessing over when the Scot will go.

RI understands that there has been a clash over the new contract with Fergie wanting a long term deal whilst the board were only prepared to offer a one year rolling contract. This report perhaps indicates a compromise has been reached.