In the programme notes for tomorrow’s game against Blackpool, Sir Alex Ferguson claims that Edwin Van der Sar came to speak to him last night about the possibility of changing his mind on retirement.

“Edwin decided he wants to go out at the top, though he did have a wobble last week,” said Ferguson. “He came to see me and told me he was thinking about changing his mind. I had to tell him to be quick about it because we are in the middle of concluding a deal for a new keeper. He came back a couple of days later to say he would be sticking with his original decision to go, which I think at his age is the right thing for him to do.”