Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the idea of hosting the Community Shield outside England is a non-starter.
The Red Devils will face Portsmouth in this year's showdown at Wembley on
August 10 and Ferguson maintains that the national stadium is the perfect venue
for the match.
United have been building up to the game by participating in the Vodacom
Challenge in South Africa.
Asked whether the Community Shield should be played in another country,
Ferguson said: 'I would hope not, for the simple reason that you're only seven
days before the start of the season.
'To be thinking of going to other countries, far away, at that time, it's too
close to the start of the season as far as I'm concerned.
'If you look at our pre-seasons over the years, we've always given players
plenty of time to recover from our trips. I would not want it to happen. I think Wembley is the perfect stage.'
United, in fact, will face Portsmouth tomorrow in Nigeria in a dress rehearsal
of the Community Shield.
They will fly out straight after the final of the Vodacom Challenge against
Kaizer Chiefs.
Ferguson explained the reasons why they decided to play a second game in the
space of 24 hours.
He said: 'We have never been to Nigeria. It was just an opportunity. You could say it was partly financial, of course. Today you have to take
money into consideration because we have a big operation to run.'
Ferguson is impressed by the progress of football in South Africa.
He continued: 'There has been a marked improvement in the standard of the game
in the last two years.
'The teams' competitive attitude has also improved. To play at the very top
level you need players who can play at good intensity and at a good speed.
'I think a lot of them would be comfortable playing in England - they have
athleticism, speed, determination and these are qualities any top club looks
for.'
Meanwhile Ferguson has targeted a goalkeeping coach to replace Tony Coton, who
was forced to quit because of injury.
Ferguson added: 'We have approached someone for the job and we're waiting for
clearance to employ him. We hope we will have clearance by the beginning of
August.'
