SIR ALEX: I felt these two players should be here today because the rubbish you are writing has got to be examined by us in relation to the veracity of it, or the source of it, and to give the opportunity for you to ask the players and put it to bed once and for all. You are writing a lot of rubbish - I want you to try and prove it here today. Any issues you have today with my two players, they are here for you.
Q: Ruud, has anything that has been written in the last two days been true to you?
RUUD: You have to be more explicit.
Q: OK, do you have any desire to leave Manchester United?
RUUD: No.
Q: Have you had any desire to leave Manchester United?
RUUD: No.
Q: Has your agent done any work on your behalf with other clubs?
RUUD: My agent works for me. We made a deal together here, to sign a new deal. I told him not to talk to anybody else. He knows I want to stay here, so he won't talk to any other teams about me. He knows I want to stay here, and that's the end of the story.
Q: So you'll definitely be a Manchester United player next season?
RUUD: Yes, and after.
Q: But he has spoken to Barcelona, hasn't he?
RUUD: Yes, apparently he has been seen over there, but that has got nothing to do with me, because there is nothing to speak about on my behalf.
Q: Do you know what he was doing there?
RUUD: He is living there. His wife lives there, they have a house there, so probably he was just there.
Q: Do you think you can fulfil all your ambitions at Manchester United?
RUUD: Yes. That is why I committed myself here longer. I want to be part of this team, this club, for the next four years, with my contract running. I want to be part of this all the way through that period.
Q: Is there any problem for you with Roy, with the manager or any of the other players?
RUUD: No. I have been reading a lot about it ...
SIR ALEX (laughing): We wouldn't know, we don't talk to each other ...
RUUD: ... my relationship with Roy and the other players is perfectly fine. The only thing is I had a discussion with David (Bellion), that was the only thing that was true. We didn't have a fight or anything, that was the one thing I read that was partially true because we had a discussion on the pitch and in the dressing room. That's it, and it doesn't mean I have a bad relationship with any player.
Q: Is that discussion you had with David the normal thing that would happen, a flare-up after training, that happens regularly at clubs?
RUUD: I think so, yes. There is nothing bad in it, just part of playing in a team that wants to be better.
Q: And you are happy with the direction the club is taking, because allegedly you are concerned about signings or the way the club is going?
RUUD: I know where the club is going, and before I signed the new deal I obviously had talks with the manager and the club about plans, and that is why I said I want to be part of those plans, because they are good plans.
Q: Ruud, it's been suggested there might be an escape clause in your contract. Is that correct?
RUUD: No. That's not part of this club's policy, I don't need a clause. I want to be here, to commit myself for four years longer and that's why you don't need clauses like that.
Q: Alex, are you convinced that Ruud's agent is working in the club's best interests ...
SIR ALEX: Absolutely.
Q: ... bearing in mind he has talked to Barcelona?
SIR ALEX: We did a deal with Ruud through his agent and we paid his agent's commission. He was well-paid for his job. It was quite a protracted thing, it took time, and was all done very amicably. He has never done anything other than in the best interests of Ruud, and it is Ruud's desire, through his agent, to secure that deal. I think maybe it happens all the time anyway, that clubs will phone the agent to ascertain whether his player is available. That may have happened. I read that in the paper and it's quite possible that (Barcelona president Joan) Laporta may have phoned Rodger (Linse), but it would seem pretty strange to me that four or five weeks after the signing of a contract with us that there was a change of heart, so I don't give any credence to that at all. That's why I think Rodger has acted very properly.
Q: Could we just ask about your position, Roy?
ROY: What, my thirty million pound move?
Q: Pardon?
ROY: I was just joking. Thirty quid maybe. Again I suppose it's from the same point of view as Ruud, that a lot of stuff has been written about me at a scattered pace from last week. The club made a statement a few days ago - I try not to get involved in this stuff, but it's come to a head now where it has got to be nailed. I am very happy here and have two years left on my contract and have every intention and have every intention of seeing those two years out. Talk of me leaving, from my point of view, is absolutely ridiculous.
Q: And going back to your international career ...
ROY: That's been fine. I discussed it with the manager and discussed it with Brian (Kerr, the Ireland manager). We are all pretty open about it. I said to Brian that the priorities are going to be the qualifying matches, and the manager here was fine with that. But I am very much focussed on Manchester United as well.
SIR ALEX: I think it's important to clarify that issue. When Roy spoke to me about going back to Ireland, I in fact encouraged him because I thought it was the best move for his family. Isn't that right, Roy?
ROY: That's right, yes.
SIR ALEX: At this stage of his career I felt that the five or ten games each year, qualifying games of real importance to Ireland, would be within his compass, so long as we could manoeuvre the games around that period, depending on who we are playing. We could be playing Liverpool or Arsenal before an international game, you know. But I felt that was the best thing for Roy's future.
Q: Was there some confusion over the friendlies, though, Alex?
SIR ALEX: That was never discussed with me, friendlies.
ROY: When I did meet Brian, he used the word "flexible". That would be a case of me ...
Q: Weighing up each one as it came ...
ROY: Without a doubt, yes. You can't really look too far ahead anyway, regarding injuries and stuff. But there will be a scenario like last week (when Keane did not travel to Poland with the Irish squad after picking up a hamstring injury), where I had my doubts, and flying was fine. I am not going to take any risks.
Q: Why did you take the decision to go back?
ROY: I don't really want to go into the ins and outs, but it's something I thought was the right thing to do, and something I wanted to do. It is the right thing to do.
Q: Do you think you can combine your international appearances ...
ROY: Without a shadow of a doubt, yes ..
Q: ... and it not affect your play?
ROY: Without a doubt, yes. As the manager said, there are five qualifiers next year, and five the following season, and a couple of them are double headers. We don't know all the fixtures yet, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. I feel it's something I am really capable of doing. I have waited this long because I felt there were obviously too many uncertainties to go back last year, maybe. I feel I can manage my hip a lot better now and that the uncertainties I had at the time are gone now. When I went over last week everything was great - everything seemed a lot more professional, and that was one of the pluses when I went back.
Q: Will you see yourself at United for the last two years of your contract?
ROY: Without a shadow of a doubt.
Q: How has the manager's policy of resting you for certain games worked out?
ROY: You ask any player, we all want to play in every match, but I realise I am going to be rested. Every player, at some stage of the season is going to be rested and it's something I am going to have to accept. We spoke about it this last pre-season, and I said I would respect the manager's decision on that. I am probably physically not capable of playing 50 to 60 games, but like to think certainly I will be involved in the majority of the games.
Q: How do you see the future for the club over the next two years?
ROY: Well, obviously we have had one or two disappointments, and as soon as that happens, everyone seems to jump on the bandwagon, it's all doom and gloom, he's leaving and he's leaving. It gets a bit silly, but we have an important few weeks ahead of us - we want to finish second, we want to win the FA Cup, and are already looking forward to trying to get our championship back next year, and of course doing a bit better in Europe. But that's what the club is always striving to do but you are not guaranteed success in this life, you have to work hard for it.
Q: Do you see this as your last club, Roy, do you see yourself finishing your career here?
ROY: I would have thought so, yes.
Q: Do you think, in one sense, it might be a gamble pursuing your international career at a time when ...
ROY: I honestly don't see it that way. It's an extra five games a season, and the way the rotation is worked out I don't think that will be a problem.
Q: How have you felt about the season, Ruud, particularly the second half?
RUUD: Now it's important to look forward to what's left. We want to finish second, as Roy said, and the final is there. We have to look back on the season when it is finished and not when there is a lot to play for. Whatever happened in the past happened - we all learned from that and want to use that to get better and finish the season on a high.
Q: Can I ask you Roy, this time last year when you won the championship, Arsene Wenger said `I still believe I have the best squad'. Do you think, now the championship is lost, looking around you, that you still have a team, a squad, capable of winning the title?
ROY: Without a doubt. You have to give credit to other teams, you have to be humble and say the best team wins the league - no-one at this club is denying that. We have lost too many games, it's as simple as that, but sometimes you have to take a step back and now we are looking to finish with three important league games, plus the FA Cup, and re-group in pre-season. That's what we have always done, that's what this club is all about. We are looking to come back, and I am sure we will, stronger than ever next season. We have done it before, where we have lost championships and come back stronger.