The Premier League champions, fielding an unexpectedly under-strength side, lost 1-0 at home to West Ham on the final day of the season - a result which was to condemn the Blades to the drop.

Warnock, who has since quit as boss at Bramall Lane, was left fuming at what he perceived as Ferguson's betrayal, given that in the build-up to the game he had proffered assurances that the champions would be fielding their best side.

And he insists he still finds it hard to accept Ferguson's attempt to soothe his anger.

"I stared at the Manchester United team to play West Ham in disbelief. I felt really let down," Warnock said in his autobiography, 'Made In Sheffield: Neil Warnock - My Story'.

"I've so much time for Sir Alex but he had said he'd play his best side against West Ham. And this was nowhere near his best side."

He added: "Sir Alex Ferguson, a man I had always looked up to, had put out a weakened team against West Ham. I was numb about that.

"And then Carlos Tevez, football's equivalent of a murderer out on bail, had scored the goal that kept West Ham up and put us down.

"So much for the integrity of the Premier League. So much for fairness and justice in English football."

Warnock claims Ferguson was contrite when the pair spoke the next day.

"He said he was sorry about what had happened at Old Trafford," he said.

"'We f****** battered them, Neil,' he said. 'We had 25 shots. And the stats would back me up on that. The team was good enough to win'.

"'I know, Alex,' I said. 'It's just the psychological boost the other team gets when they see all those names not on your team sheet'.

"'I can't tell you how sorry I am,' he said."

Warnock also voiced his unhappiness with the medical attention received by striker Rob Hulse when he broke his leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last term.

He said: "Rob was lying in our dressing room for a long time with a broken leg while we waited for an ambulance.

"We felt strongly enough to write a letter of complaint about what we thought was an unacceptable delay.

"There were other issues. The stretcher got stuck in on of the corridors which wasn't wide enough.

"Chelsea didn't even have an x-ray machine at their ground. I was taken aback."