A senior Ulster Unionist has dismissed suggestions a "dream team" from rival sections of the party could replace Mr David Trimble as leader.
Former Stormont culture minister Mr Michael McGimpsey said there was "no alternative" to Mr Trimble's leadership of the party.
As Mr Trimble continued his whistle-stop tour of constituency associations in Northern Ireland, Mr McGimpsey said: "There has been a lot of speculation in recent times about dream teams.
"If you are talking about Sir Reg Empey and Jeffrey Donaldson, as I understand it, they come from two different interpretations of the Belfast Agreement. Reg is pro-Agreement and Jeffrey anti-Agreement and those two camps have been diametrically opposed.
"So if you have a dream team, it immediately raises questions about policies, about who is for and who is against the policies," he said.
Speculation about Mr Trimble's leadership has been mounting in recent weeksfollowing moves to discipline three rebel MPs for resigning the UUP whip atWestminster.
Party president the Rev Martin Smyth, Mr Donaldson, and Mr David Burnside angered supporters of Mr Trimble in June by resigning the whip in a row over policy.
The three rebel MPs were protesting against the Ulster Unionist Council'sfailure to completely reject peace process proposals by the Irish and British governments.
An attempt to suspend the three MPs was overturned by a Belfast High Court judgelast month after he ruled that the action against them breached Ulster Unionistdisciplinary rules.
A second attempt has since been launched to take the MPs to task.
Ulster Unionist party officers will decide in Belfast tonight whether ameeting of the 900-member ruling council will take place next month to debatethe disciplinary moves.
PA