War of words heats up again

Manchester Utd v Lille:Any possibility tonight might be an opportunity for reconciliation between Lille and Manchester United after the explosive first leg in Lens a fortnight ago vanished in the preliminaries yesterday when the Lille manager, Claude Puel, and Alex Ferguson exchanged words that could not be considered pleasantries.

Ferguson said Lille are portraying themselves "as a little club against a big one who are bullying them. Inevitably that stance puts pressure on a referee".

Puel responded by saying Ferguson has been "putting a lot of pressure on - in France we are more interested in respect between managers".

More controversially, Puel accused United fans of being "in possession of counterfeit tickets" in Lens and of being "violent" while there. Those claims have been made since the first leg but not publicly by Lille's manager, and it ensures Puel and his players will receive a hostile reaction from the 74,000 at Old Trafford this evening.

At his lunchtime press conference, Ferguson said his players have "no reason . . . to get involved in any grievance or emotional attachments to the game". But in his programme notes Ferguson was more forthright.

Referring to Ryan Giggs's 83rd-minute winner, which seemed at one stage as if it would provoke a Lille walk-off, Ferguson writes: "They (Lille) have virtually accused us of cheating by taking a quick free-kick, despite the fact that around the field their players took similarly speedy action on a number of occasions. Nothing wrong with that, of course, because it keeps the game flowing. It's not our fault that their goalkeeper took an inordinately long time to line up the defensive wall in front of him.

"The bottom line is that Ryan Giggs showed great presence of mind while their team were caught napping, and that's not cheating. I believe they should be looking at themselves rather than blaming us.

"I'm sure when the dust has settled, Lille's attempt to get their players to walk off will worry their coach for a long time to come. It certainly should. And then to appeal against the Uefa findings, that beggars belief and just pours more fuel on what is an inflammatory situation."

Puel, who played for Arsene Wenger at Monaco, said United were the originators of a row that now definitely overshadows tonight. Puel said he was "not interested in this polemic situation". It will not look that way to United fans or Ferguson.

The sense of injustice Lille bring with them should be a powerful motivation, and the French also have the memory of last season when they knocked United out of the competition at the group stage. That was a recent European low for United and Ferguson's players will not be thrilled to hear of Puel's parting barb last night: "It can't have been particularly pleasant to be eliminated by a small club last season."

The verbal accusations meant that potentially significant injury news - Louis Saha and Darren Fletcher collected knocks in training yesterday - was pushed down the agenda.

Fletcher could be out for two months, Ferguson said, but there was no specific diagnosis on Saha. It is understood he has a thigh strain and, if serious, United's attacking options are suddenly reduced. With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having surgery last week and Henrik Larsson returning to Sweden after Saturday's FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough, Wayne Rooney is United's principal striker.

Those factors may regain prominence at some point tonight. But do not bet on it. As Giggs said of his free-kick: "If it is on, I will ask (the referee) again. But if it is not, I won't. It doesn't matter if there is a huge fuss again. I am not breaking the rules, so I would do."