Tottenham boss Martin Jol is "100% convinced" Dimitar Berbatov will remain at White Hart Lane.
Berbatov's agent Emil Dantchev has claimed he is due to have talks with the Spurs hierarchy later this week about renewed interest from Manchester United.
The Red Devils have denied making a bid for the Bulgaria international, although Sir Alex Ferguson is a known fan and did make one tentative inquiry for the 26-year-old early in the summer.
Berbatov could only have impressed Ferguson even more yesterday with his performance in Tottenham's unlucky 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
However, Jol remains determined to keep the former Bayer Leverkusen star, who scored 23 times in his debut campaign with the north London club, and is optimistic he will succeed.
"I said on Friday that I would rather die than sell Berbatov," said Jol.
"Hopefully, I won't die.
"I am 100% convinced he will stay at the club."
Although Tottenham are now just one place off the drop zone having suffered their third defeat in four outings this term, Jol appears in bullish mood.
Having received assurances from chairman Daniel Levy his job is safe for the remainder of the campaign, the highly-regarded Dutch coach is now keen to be left alone to get on with it.
Not even confirmation that Levy was part of a Spurs deputation which headed to Spain for a meeting with reported managerial candidate Juande Ramos could darken Jol's mood, although he did react to news of it with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"It is always handy that everyone is there if you want to see a club structure and how a club works," he said, referring to the reasons given by the Tottenham board as to why vice-chairman Paul Kemsley and club secretary John Alexander spoke to the Sevilla coach in the first place.
"The close watchers know where we have come from, in terms of last year, the year before and the year before that," he added.
"We have finished fifth twice. When you look at the Evertons and the Newcastles of this world I felt we were fine.
"Of course, there is always a next step. Other clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea will have a say in that.
"All the people who have seen me over the last three years know me. They can make a judgement. Let me get on with the job and we will be fine."
Jol left Old Trafford nursing an acute sense of injustice though as he was convinced Wes Brown handled Berbatov's goal-bound shot when the game was still deadlocked.
"He would have to be a wizard to keep that out," he argued.
"It was a penalty."
TV replays appeared to show otherwise, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson to defend his man.
"I have seen it several times now and the ball hit his chest," said the Scot.
"It was not a penalty but they protested so much, they almost turned it into one."
Ferguson was grateful for the decision as not long afterwards, Nani thrashed home the winner to give United their first win of the season and lift them into the top half of the table.
The United boss recognises it has been a difficult start for his team.
But now they have that vital victory under their belts, he feels his team can start stringing some results together.
"This is not an easy league," he said.
"Many times in the past we have won championships because we have battled through games. We had one or two of them last season.
"Battling is not a problem. This was our least effective performance of the season so far but it should give us the confidence to enjoy our football.
"The one club in this country capable of going on a long run undefeated is Manchester United."
The Red Devils have denied making a bid for the Bulgaria international, although Sir Alex Ferguson is a known fan and did make one tentative inquiry for the 26-year-old early in the summer.
Berbatov could only have impressed Ferguson even more yesterday with his performance in Tottenham's unlucky 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
However, Jol remains determined to keep the former Bayer Leverkusen star, who scored 23 times in his debut campaign with the north London club, and is optimistic he will succeed.
"I said on Friday that I would rather die than sell Berbatov," said Jol.
"Hopefully, I won't die.
"I am 100% convinced he will stay at the club."
Although Tottenham are now just one place off the drop zone having suffered their third defeat in four outings this term, Jol appears in bullish mood.
Having received assurances from chairman Daniel Levy his job is safe for the remainder of the campaign, the highly-regarded Dutch coach is now keen to be left alone to get on with it.
Not even confirmation that Levy was part of a Spurs deputation which headed to Spain for a meeting with reported managerial candidate Juande Ramos could darken Jol's mood, although he did react to news of it with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"It is always handy that everyone is there if you want to see a club structure and how a club works," he said, referring to the reasons given by the Tottenham board as to why vice-chairman Paul Kemsley and club secretary John Alexander spoke to the Sevilla coach in the first place.
"The close watchers know where we have come from, in terms of last year, the year before and the year before that," he added.
"We have finished fifth twice. When you look at the Evertons and the Newcastles of this world I felt we were fine.
"Of course, there is always a next step. Other clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea will have a say in that.
"All the people who have seen me over the last three years know me. They can make a judgement. Let me get on with the job and we will be fine."
Jol left Old Trafford nursing an acute sense of injustice though as he was convinced Wes Brown handled Berbatov's goal-bound shot when the game was still deadlocked.
"He would have to be a wizard to keep that out," he argued.
"It was a penalty."
TV replays appeared to show otherwise, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson to defend his man.
"I have seen it several times now and the ball hit his chest," said the Scot.
"It was not a penalty but they protested so much, they almost turned it into one."
Ferguson was grateful for the decision as not long afterwards, Nani thrashed home the winner to give United their first win of the season and lift them into the top half of the table.
The United boss recognises it has been a difficult start for his team.
But now they have that vital victory under their belts, he feels his team can start stringing some results together.
"This is not an easy league," he said.
"Many times in the past we have won championships because we have battled through games. We had one or two of them last season.
"Battling is not a problem. This was our least effective performance of the season so far but it should give us the confidence to enjoy our football.
"The one club in this country capable of going on a long run undefeated is Manchester United."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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