EVEN by Sir Alex Ferguson's standards the list of excuses he cobbled together after West Ham knocked United out of the FA Cup was remarkable.

According to Ferguson, the reason his side lost had nothing to do with the better side winning on the day, but had everything to do with the state of the pitch and the referee.

He moaned: "I can't believe Manchester United has allowed rugby matches to be played on the pitch. The biggest club in the world and they have to play rugby every November. You would think they would learn a lesson its an absolute disgrace."

Then he complained: "We should have had a clear penalty in the first half -- a clear handball. If you don't get those, then you know it is not going to be your day."

Finally Ferguson said: "He (the referee) added four minutes on, but I felt it should have been a lot more than that. They don't really take time -- they just guess it."

So there you have it -- according to Ferguson, West Ham deserve no credit and are just the luckiest side in the world.

However, the odd thing about Manchester United since Ferguson took over is that they have been bedevilled by bad luck. For every setback there was at least one external factor going against his side. Sir Alex Ferguson will go down in history as a great manager, but he will never be remembered with the affection of, say Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley or Bill Nicholson, because of his appalling sportsmanship.

DAVE PEARSON, Rawstorne Street, Blackburn.