Fergie: Pompey fans could drown me out

Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned the noisy Portsmouth fans could make his touch-line ban even worse by drowning out his attempts to communicate with his assistants on Saturday at Fratton Park.

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Portsmouth's fans will try to make Sir Alex Ferguson unheard

It's the first of two matches in which Ferguson will have to sit in the stands after he was punished for criticising referee Alan Wiley's fitness earlier this season, and he admits the famous Pompey Chimes have the potential to make the outspoken Manchester United boss unheard - a rare feat indeed this season.

"All the lines of communication are in place but the problem you have got is that Fratton Park is such a noisy place,'' Ferguson said. "The directors' box is towards the home end where all the noise comes from. It is a good racket for sure. It is a terrific football stadium.''

At least Ferguson will be able to enjoy a post-match glass of wine with Avram Grant in some degree of comfort afterwards.

The pair have remained in contact during Grant's enforced exile from the game, having been sacked as Chelsea boss in the wake of their Champions League final defeat to United in the Moscow rain in May 2008.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich believed Luiz Felipe Scolari was a better option, only for that move to become so disastrous that Guus Hiddink had to be called in to sort the mess out.

"Sometimes you don't understand everything in football,'' Ferguson said. "Getting to the final of the European Cup was an achievement. Chelsea were within one penalty kick of winning it and they also finished second in the league.

"But it might have been the fact that someone else has come onto the horizon. They might have looked upon it as progress to get a different manager in. Nonetheless, it was disappointing for Avram, having achieved what he did. But he has never shown any bitterness. He has got on with his life.''

Grant's new role is trying to re-establish Portsmouth as some kind of Premier League force. Given all the turmoil behind the scenes, and the dismantling of a squad good enough to win the FA Cup in 2008 under Harry Redknapp, some pundits believe Portsmouth are certainties for the drop.

But Ferguson is not so sure and, after analysing Pompey's recent performances, he feels Grant can look forward to better times.

"Portsmouth have some very good players,'' Ferguson said. "I have looked at their videos and they may be in a false position. But being bottom of the league does create a reaction from owners and management of a club.

"It doesn't matter which club it is, when you have a change of ownership there will be a certain amount of disruption. You get new policies coming in, or there might be a new financial outlook. You can see how it can have an effect on the pitch. And owners of a club don't like to see their team at the bottom of the league. That is the danger position.

"If you are third or fourth bottom you think everything will be okay. But when you see your team going bottom it creates a dread about where they are going to be next season.''