Alex Ferguson insisted last night that the heart complaint which necessitated treatment this week will neither force him to cut back on his everyday workload at Manchester United nor persuade him to step up his search for an assistant manager.
The Scot still expects to sign a new three-and-a-half-year contract at Old Trafford in the near future having already discussed with the club's chief executive David Gill the implications of the "electrozap" treatment, which he underwent at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle on Thursday to bring an irregular heartbeat back to normal.
"There are no problems with the contract, none at all," stressed the United manager, who will be 62 on New Year's Eve. "I've spoken to David (about the treatment) and he understands. My lawyer's got the contract now and he's looking through it, but everything's fine. Absolutely. There's no cause to re-think anything. Why should I? I've always handled pressure well, I enjoy my work and it will continue."
Although he did not take training yesterday, his focus remained very much on preparing his squad for this afternoon's Premiership visit of Aston Villa having admitted that finding an assistant to replace Carlos Queiroz, who left to become head coach at Real Madrid in the summer, had slipped well down his list of priorities. The Portuguese's departure has surely added to Ferguson's workload this season, even if Mike Phelan has been doing the job on an interim basis.
"We're no further on on that front," said Ferguson. "I had a good search through a few names at the beginning of the season but Mike Phelan's done a terrific job and I wouldn't say we're actively looking at the minute. We've got enough experience about the place, so I wouldn't feel we need to be jumping in unless we find someone who's got the right qualities.
"You have to understand what's been done. I went for a normal check-up two months ago, something I do off my own back regularly, which showed up an irregular heartbeat. You don't know you've got it, it's not as if you feel any pain or anything, and it was a straight-forward two-minute treatment to put it right.
"I'm due to go back in a month for a check-up to make sure it's still regular but it should be fine. Everything's back to normal and there are no concerns for the future. Half a million Britons suffer from this and two and a half million Americans have irregular heartbeats. It's not unusual."
Yet, while an irregular heartbeat is a relatively minor cardiovascular complaint it seems inconceivable that the Scot will not contemplate adopting a new lifestyle to try to avoid some of the stresses of the job, though other league managers who have suffered heart problems have not found it easy to change their ways.
Gerard Houllier suffered an acute aortic dissection in October 2001 but readily admits he has not changed his workaholic approach to the game since resuming duties at Liverpool after only five months of rehabilitation.
"There's no point telling him to relax or take a bit off his workload because in this job you just can't," he said. "You can't work at 50 per cent or take your foot off the pedal and I haven't cut back."
Graeme Souness, who underwent a triple by-pass to correct a hereditary heart defect in 1991 while manager of Liverpool, said: "The stress is there all the time. It's either something you can put up with or you can't do the job but a scare like this does give you a realisation that you are vulnerable."
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