Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has risked the wrath of Chelsea supporters by declaring that he has the champagne on ice for Manchester United should they clinch the Premier League title at the JJB Stadium today.
- Whelan ready to raise a glass to Man Utd | Grant wants to put Chelsea fans first
- Ferguson: Berbatov fits the bill
- Football fans' forum
In a move sure to raise hackles around Stamford Bridge, Whelan has admitted that he has little affection for southern clubs and also intimated that an encounter with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich three years ago, when Wigan entertained the London club on their Premier League debut, left him cold.
Meanwhile, Avram Grant, has reminded those closest to him that he has a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge, is happy to stay, and that he is planning for next season at the helm of a team who face Bolton today hoping that United stumble at Wigan.
That is being interpreted as a sign that Abramovich has given him the go-ahead to continue in the job, and may also explain his confident rebuttal of claims that the club's drive towards domestic and European success owes more to the players than him.
Whether those sentiments are shared by Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard remains to be seen. Drogba has been strongly linked with a summer move to AC Milan, with some reports suggesting that a three-year deal with the Italian club has already been agreed.
Lampard, meanwhile, whose admirers include Serie A champions Inter Milan, is understood to be dissatisfied with the terms being offered by Chelsea on an extension to his current contract, which expires at the end of next season.
