• Premier League

Moyes dismisses Ferguson claims

Manchester United manager David Moyes has rejected the claims of the club's former captain Roy Keane's that retired boss Sir Alex Ferguson remains the most powerful man at Old Trafford.

Keane's claims in an ITV documentary that Ferguson's inflated ego will not allow him to surrender his influence at the club he ruled for 26 years demanded a response from Moyes, and the under-pressure United boss was polite in his rebuttal.

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"I've only found Sir Alex very helpful to me, I can only say that. He's been great," Moyes said. "If I've needed any advice, I can pick up the phone to him. He's been very good.

"He's not about the place. I don't see him out there. He comes to the games, but he's a director now, so he's entitled to do that. I've got to say, I've had no problem with Sir Alex. I can pick up the phone to him when I need to, which I do now and again.

"Obviously, we bump into each other, because he's a director. We say hello after the games, but he doesn't come into the dressing room.

"A lot of the directors do, but Alex keeps away from it. If I need to call, or I've something I need to say to him, I do. Once every two or three weeks, something like that."

Moyes went on to accept United cannot afford to drop any more points after back-to-back Premier League defeats, but he insisted the attitude of his players cannot be questioned.

"I can only tell you that every time we've played a game we haven't won, the players have been distraught by it," he added.

"There's been a real toughness in them to try to put it right. I see that in them. There's a toughness in the players here to put things right. They know their standards, the ones they have set over the years, so they're all keen to get back to that.

"I've not had any reason at any time to question anybody's attitude, or the way they've gone about their work here. I see them in the dressing room and the disappointment when they're not winning. They're winners and they are used to winning.

"I can only tell you about what I see from them, and I see them really committed in trying to make it happen."

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