A round-up of today's other Soccer stories in brief...

FA chiefs to meet managers over referee incidents

ENGLISH FA chiefs will seek an urgent meeting with league managers to try to get their "Respect" campaign back on track after being disappointed by the latest outbursts against referees.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson was charged with improper conduct last week for coming on to the pitch to remonstrate with match official Mike Dean, while Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear is likely to face similar action after labelling Martin Atkinson "a Mickey Mouse referee".

Sunderland manager Roy Keane was also hit with an FA charge in the wake of his half-time confrontation with referee Martin Atkinson in the recent 5-0 defeat at Chelsea.

Now the FA are seeking meetings with the League Managers' Association and individual managers to shore up the Respect programme.

• CHELSEA chief executive Peter Kenyon has reiterated the club have no advanced plans to leave Stamford Bridge and move to another stadium, as recent reports have suggested.

He also said the club would not strengthen the squad in January.

Hughes feared the sack until told his job is safe

MARK HUGHES initially feared he could be sacked as manager when he heard that Manchester City's new owner, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, wanted to see him in Abu Dhabi. Hughes feared the worst, according to one senior source, until he was assured that his job was safe and that he will be entrusted with as much money as he wants in the January transfer window.

He is due to fly to the Middle East today for his first face-to-face talks with the sheikh.

Despite a public show of support yesterday, it is understood the Abu Dhabi United Group is not entirely convinced by Hughes's plans for January, when his main targets will include Roque Santa Cruz, Lassana Diarra and Wayne Bridge. The club's owners would prefer him to set his sights a little higher.

Of reports that Hughes could be removed, the chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said: "I find it incredible. It is rubbish. I am committed to Mark and his team. I think people will see in January . . . we will be upgrading in terms of players."

City have lost their last three league games and are only a point above the relegation places while Hughes is having problems with several key players, notably Elano. He has also been disappointed by Micah Richards's attitude in training and has serious concerns about Jo, the €23.3 million Brazilian striker signed on the orders of the former chairman Thaksin Shinawatra. Guardian Service