Champions League: Manchester United's attempts to gloss over the impact of their Champions League elimination descended into the realms of farce yesterday, with Alex Ferguson delegating media duties to Carlos Queiroz and journalists warned that the press conference would be abandoned if anybody asked about the absent manager.
Having set down the rules, Queiroz proceeded to say that United were on course for "a great season" and that they had "the best players in the world".
It was a mystifying claim, to say the least, given the succession of crises and states of emergency that have been declared during Ferguson's 20th season in charge.
Even ignoring the possible implications of Wednesday's 2-1 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon, the story of United's season has been dominated by crowd unrest, Roy Keane's expulsion, boardroom politics, bitter divisions, George Best's death, a 4-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough and, increasingly, the welter of speculation that it may be Ferguson's last year at the club.
Queiroz, however, was eager to paint the picture that even if everything was not quite rosy in the Old Trafford garden it was not as gloomy as had been portrayed.
"I'm sure this will be a great season," he said. "The time to judge us is when the season is finished. This is not the time for explanations, for excuses, for pointing fingers; it's time to move forward. We trust our players, we believe in our work and we're confident it's going to be a successful season."
An increasingly prominent figure since returning to the club from a best-forgotten spell at Real Madrid, Queiroz declined to comment on Keane, declaring that there was no point looking to the past.
He went on to state that United were in a "great position" in the Premiership, even though they may be 13 points behind Chelsea by the time they host Everton tomorrow without the suspended Ruud van Nistelrooy.
"We're second in the league and if we win our game in hand (against Wigan next Wednesday) and then go to London and beat Chelsea the lead will be only four points. We're in a great position to challenge. Plus we can control the FA Cup and we can control the Carling Cup. We're fighting for three trophies.
"We're sad to have gone out of the Champions League but there is still the belief and confidence that we can turn that disappointment into a positive run for the rest of the season."
After two defeats, three draws and a solitary victory in a relatively moderate Champions League group, it is debatable whether many United fans would share Queiroz's optimism, or his assertion that the team had not deserved to lose on Wednesday night - contradicting, among others, Ferguson, who had described it as a "fair result".
Queiroz admitted that he had been disappointed by Cristiano Ronaldo's contribution at the Estadio da Luz, culminating in the player's one-finger salute to the crowd after he had been substituted in the second half, a loss of self-control that may see him charged by Uefa's disciplinary committee.
"It was not one of his best performances," observed Queiroz.
"He was too tense. It's natural he felt like that because he's a young player and he was being booed by the same people who love him when he plays for Portugal.
"I know him well and I'm sure these experiences will make him stronger."
Guardian Service
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