As 'Grand Slam Sunday' approaches and the big four prepare to go into battle, Sir Alex Ferguson has proved once more that he is still the master. Like him or loathe him, he has consistently managed to 'wind-up' his opponents prior to the big games.

You would think that the other managers would be wise to his old tricks and would simply laugh them off but Fergie is still clever enough to get under their skin.

This week, prior to the big game with Liverpool, Fergie has been talking about the lack of protection referees give christiano ronaldo. It is a clear attempt to influence Sunday's referee Steve Bennett into ensuring that the outstanding Portuguese gets a free kick each time he hits the deck. Fairly standard tactics from Fergie I would say. No way Rafa Benitez will let that get to him. Not a bit of it. Fergie knows just how to push the right buttons.

"Ferguson is clever, that is clear," Benitez said when asked about his comments. "After a difficult game, he was talking about referees and before an important game he is talking about protecting Ronaldo. The referees, though, have experience and they will know Ferguson. This kind of treatment must be the same for all the teams and all the players. I don't know what he was thinking about exactly, but if you need to protect Ronaldo, you also need to protect Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard and all the skilful players in the league."

I just don't understand why Rafa allowed himself to be riled by Fergie. When asked about the comments Rafa could have smiled and said, "Just Fergie up to his old tricks again."

Instead, he reacted a little angrily and Fergie knows he has got one up on Benitez before they get anywhere near the game.

Over the years Fergie has managed to win 'mind games' with Arsene Wenger, Claudio Ranieri, a string of Liverpool managers and of course, famously, Kevin Keegan. He is obviously good at it but these other managers are totally naive to let him get to them.

The only manager that smiled at and ignored Fergie's attempts to rattle him was Jose Mourinho. They had great respect for each other. They were both skilled at the art of getting under the skin of their opponents and by recognising that skill in each other, rarely tried against the other.

Whether Fergie's comments actually influence referees, or whether the fact that he antagonises the managers of his main opponents actually influence the outcome of games we shall probably never know. What we do know is that he must spend a lot of his time sniggering at the reactions of his managerial colleagues and wondering how he can still get away with it.

He has a lot of enemies, but we'll all miss Fergie when he's gone.