ALEX FERGUSON has said he was "less optimistic" about Manchester United's chances of signing Dimitar Berbatov than he had been two weeks ago.

The club will renew their efforts to prise him away from Tottenham Hotspur next week, but Ferguson has been frustrated by the complications of bringing in another striker to complement Wayne Rooney, a player the United manager conceded was not in his best form.

Ferguson spoke of Rooney "overdoing it in the wrong areas of the pitch", and said the England striker would have more success in the penalty area if he curbed his roaming instincts.

"This is something we are talking to Wayne about and he himself has started to identify that it's a weakness. It is not a bad thing for him to have come out (after England's 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic) and said so. He is realising he needs to be more around the edge of the box in the last third of play. It can be a waste of energy chasing from man to man to man. But that's his natural enthusiasm and you can't fault that."

If United can persuade Spurs to part company with Berbatov, Ferguson thinks it will take some of the pressure off Rooney at a time when Louis Saha has injury problems and Cristiano Ronaldo is still five or six weeks away from returning to the side, despite being allowed to step up his training with some light jogging exercises.

The talks with Spurs have reached an impasse, however. The transfer window closes on Monday week and although, in theory, that still leaves plenty of time for a deal to be concluded, Ferguson, perhaps strategically, indicated that his transfer targets might be slipping away.

"How long have we got?" he asked. "Eleven days . . . under pressure! We are working at something. But you never know in football. We may get him, we may not. We're trying, but if we don't we will carry on with what we have got. If you take the long-term view I think we would be okay."

Meanwhile, Thaksin Shinawatra is preparing to be forced off the Manchester City board under the Premier League's fit-and-proper-person test. The former prime minister of Thailand, who has been advised to stay away from tomorrow's home game against West Ham for his safety, was described last night as "embarrassed" about the damage he had inflicted on City's reputation, but sent out a message, via the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook, that he was determined to remain the principal power behind the club.

Thaksin has reluctantly had to consider his position after fleeing Thailand earlier this month to avoid the possibility of being convicted and sent to prison on corruption charges. His trial is due to go ahead in his absence and, if he is found guilty, he also faces being blacklisted from running a Premier League club under the fit-and-proper-person test, which states no club is allowed to employ a director with a conviction for fraud.

"Dr Thaksin has been really open," said Cook. "He has said to us, 'If you need me to resign from this football club because it will serve the needs of the Premier League, I'm fine with that.' He is embarrassed about the indignity he has brought upon his football club and the Premier League. He never intended this to be the case. Three months ago, it was very different."

Thaksin and his lawyers are examining Premier League documents to see how he can take a passive role behind the scenes and continue bankrolling City without breaking any rules.

"We are looking at taking him off the board as a director," said Cook. "But can he be a shareholder? Those are two very different issues. The jurisdiction around the term 'fit-and-proper-person' needs to be more clearly defined. It is a very loose term, almost tongue-in-cheek, because there have been plenty of unfit and improper people in the league over the last 10 years."

Shaun Maloney has rejoined Celtic on a four-year contract from Aston Villa. The 25-year-old made his Celtic debut in April 2001 but left for Villa Park in January 2007 for a €1.4 million fee after failing to agree terms with the Scottish champions.

Maloney has returned north for a fee which could rise over €3 million.

Luiz Felipe Scolari believes the arrival of Robinho from Real Madrid can give his Chelsea squad the extra dimension they require to keep their opponents guessing this season.

The Brazil striker's proposed transfer has edged closer to completion as Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, delayed his trip to Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games to hold further talks with Real. Kenyon had been in Madrid on Wednesday to meet Real director Jose Angel Sanchez.

Robinho spoke yesterday of his desire to swap the Bernabeu for Stamford Bridge, and the greatest hold-up to the deal appeared to be Real's need to sign a replacement forward.

"I have never trained with Robinho but I like him because his style is different," said Scolari. "He tries to dribble many times. He is a different player and we need one player on the pitch who makes a difference.

"We have one team that we play, one system and to change this system, we need different players."