Boss Working On Squad

Sir Alex Ferguson says he is still finalising his Barclays Premier League squad for the 2010/11 season following the introduction of new rules regarding the size and make-up of his pool of players.

Under new guidelines, clubs are required to register a squad of up to 25 players, which must include at least eight 'home-grown' players, at the end of each transfer window – the first deadline this season is 17:00 BST on 1 September.

Home-grown players do not have to be English and are defined as those who "irrespective of nationality or age, have been affiliated to the FA or Welsh FA for a period of three seasons or 36 months prior to their 21st birthday.”

Clubs can supplement their squad with an unlimited number of players under the age of 21.

One player Sir Alex is still waiting on in terms of availability this season is Owen Hargreaves. The midfielder is currently having treatment in America following a set-back in his recovery from a long-term tendonitis problem, but the United manager insists he will give Hargreaves as long as possible before deciding whether or not to include him in his final 25.“We can keep it open for Owen until 31 August,” insisted the Reds’ boss. “There is no rush. Owen will stay in America until he’s ready to come back into training.

“I haven’t looked into how the new rules affect everyone else yet, I’ve only addressed what we’ve had to deal with.

“It was interesting to sit down and assess the squad - the Da Silvas, for example, aren’t classed as home-grown players until this time next year. [Kiko] Macheda comes under the same umbrella. So there have been all these little things we’ve had to look at.

“The foundational part of our home-grown players like Giggs, Neville, Scholes, Fletcher and Brown is fine, there are no problems there.

“[John] O’Shea is a strange one though – he’s not accepted in the Champions League as a home-grown player because he missed the deadline by six days when he first joined us, but he is classed as home-grown in the Premier League.

“I think the new rules are a good thing. It had to happen. You have to pay attention to them and make sure you tick all the boxes and don’t make any mistakes.”