Ferguson, Wenger rue Mourinho exit

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes Jose Mourinho's shock departure from Chelsea will be a loss to the Premier League.   

Mourinho was due to take Chelsea to Old Trafford on Sunday but Ferguson will not be locking horns with his great rival.   

It is a disappointment for the game. He was terrific for football and terrific for Chelsea, Ferguson told a news conference.   

I enjoyed the competition with him. He was something fresh and new to our game. I don't know what I will do with my wine now. I wish him well.   

United wrested the Premier League title back from Chelsea last season following back-to-back championships for the London club under Mourinho.   

The intense rivalry between Ferguson and Mourinho often prompted verbal jousts but there was also a high level of mutual respect.   

He's been fantastic, he has enjoyed unparalleled success without question, Ferguson added.   

Ferguson said Mourinho's departure did not mean United would get it any easier against Chelsea at the weekend.   

We are still playing Chelsea and still the same players, and that in itself is a challenge for us. It's always a difficult match, he said.   

If you look at the record between us over the last three or four years there is nothing in it. There are very few goals scored and they are always very tight games.   

United and Chelsea are level on 11 points with six games played.   

After a slow start to the season United have won their last three league games, as well as starting their Champions League campaign with a mid-week win at Sporting Lisbon.   

Four 1-0 victories are not what we are renowned for but nonetheless they are victories. They have given us a good platform, Ferguson added.  

Ferguson is encouraged by the return to fitness of Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha but England internationals Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville will be missing due to injury.

Wenger also rues Mourinho's departure   

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted he was sad to see Jose Mourinho leave Chelsea despite their stormy relationship.              

Wenger could have been forgiven if he breathed a sign of relief on hearing Mourinho had left Stamford Bridge after a series of highly-public disputes with the Portuguese coach.    

Mourinho infuriated Wenger when he described the Frenchman as a ‘voyeur’ and the squabble continued when the Gunners boss responded by saying: "When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid sometimes and not more intelligent."              

But Wenger insisted he had immense respect for the way Mourinho transformed Chelsea one of Europe's most powerful teams and won back to back Premier League titles.           

"It is basically sad because I feel Mourinho is a manager of quality," he said. "We didn't get on the best but recently it has become better. That does not hide the fact I respected what he did and the quality of his work.           

"I am a great believer in technical stability and therefore I don't think it is good news for football."      

"Of course he is a great manager. He arrived when Chelsea were on the way up; they had a good side already and he did something more and made them winners.              

"He deserves a lot of credit for that because it is never easy to win and in England it is maybe more difficult.   

"I thought for a while, when he extended his contract, he was on the same way of thinking as I or Ferguson, where we try to impart something over a longer period at the club."             

Wenger believes Avram Grant, Mourinho's successor at Stamford Bridge, is capable of building on the foundations left by the former Porto coach, although he is unsure how long the former Israel national coach - a four-time Israeli domestic title winning coach - will be given to impress.    

"I know him very well from Israel. I have very good relations with Avram," Wenger said. "When he was manager of Israel he visited some clubs and he came here through some common connections we had and since we have had very good relations.              

"He is a very talented coach. I don't know if he is just filling in or will take over for the longer term but we will see what kind of changes he makes."