The Manchester United boss slammed the Reds' American owners as lacking class for undermining Benitez by holding talks with Jurgen Klinsmann about the manager's job.

He warned that sacking the Spaniard may cause stars such as Fernando Torres to walk away.

The Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett will secure their future at Anfield in the next 24 hours with a controversial £350m (S$987m) loan, to the dismay of fans who wanted them to sell to Dubai International Capital.

But an angry Ferguson, who has been at United since 1986, told the co-owners: 'At big clubs, it's absolutely paramount that the board show their class. Arsene Wenger has had great support at Arsenal and I've had great support, too.

'What happened with Klinsmann was a bad piece of business on Liverpool's part. That sort of thing can be very upsetting. You should allow a manager to get on with his job.

'One thing for sure is that Rafa has brought in a lot of his players because of Spanish connections. Now, if an English manager was to come into Liverpool, that connection is gone. What happens then?'

Besides Torres, whose goal-scoring form has been the one positive in a poor season, Liverpool's Spanish armada include goalkeeper Jose Reina, defender Alvaro Arbeloa and midfielder Xabi Alonso.

The off-pitch turmoil, captain Steven Gerrard admitted, has already affected performances - four straight League draws.

Ferguson believes the fifth-placed team's League title hopes are over: 'They will concentrate on trying to win the European Cup rather than the league.''

Referring to title contenders United, Arsenal and Chelsea, he said: 'It is very difficult to think that three teams could drop that number of points and be caught.'

Liverpool fans are now prepared to turn their recent protests against Hicks and Gillett into a financial boycott of the club should the Americans remain in control at Anfield, a survey of 2,000 disillusioned supporters has found.

A Liverpool Supporters Network found 99 per cent backed Benitez over the co-owners, and 98 per cent said they did not trust Gillett and Hicks, who will put half of the £350m on the club's books, despite promising to do no such thing when they first wooed fans.

The survey found 76 per cent were willing to withdraw their financial commitment to the club in the form of match tickets, merchandising or subscriptions to the Liverpool website.

The Supporters Network will also propose extending the boycott to include club sponsors Carlsberg, the kit suppliers adidas and even the Royal Bank of Scotland, should the loan go through.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE