Flemming Ostergaard, the chairman of Danish side FC Copenhagen, has ridiculed claims that he is interested in investing in Dundee United, despite the fact that sources from within Tannadice are still touting him as one of several potential bidders for Jim McLean's 41 per cent stake in the troubled club. The Sunday Herald was informed that the influential Dane was one of those involved in ongoing talks with the Tayside club, but that comes as news to Mr Ostergaard. "We have no financial interest in Dundee United. All this is an exaggeration. There are many rumours, but our interest is only in co- operation. No investment, none at all," he stressed. Instead, a couple of meetings between the chairman of FC Copenhagen and representatives of United have solely focused on potential swap deals involving players. Although Ostergaard has revealed United did approach him for advice on their business plans. He added: "Dundee United contacted me about the possibility of co- operating with them and to see whether we could give advice about running their club.

"FC Copenhagen is a good example, because we are a small club, but we are No.1 in Denmark. We are successful because we make a strategy and a budget and we follow them. To me there is no difference between a football club and any other business. It is the same as running any other business, whether it is a grocery shop or a manufacturing company." The inference may have been accidental, but there is already one successful grocer who would love the chance to buy McLean out. Eddie Thompson, the chairman of the Morning, Noon and Night convenience chain, is currently awaiting a response to a letter he dispatched to the former chairman's lawyer last week. In it, the United supporter invited McLean to name his price for the 5,334 shares his family own. "I see Mr McLean going as a window of opportunity for this club to go forward. But we have to use it because the situation is critical. The decisions which are made in the next few weeks will determine the direction of United for years to come.

And they will have an immediate effect on whether we are still playing in the Premier League next season," said Thompson. A spokesman for United insisted that Thompson was only one of several interested parties. "There is strong interest in Jim McLean's shares from a number of emin-ently suitable people," he said. United for Change remain to be convinced that there is a queue of people at McLean's door, willing to part with a £1m-plus to buy into a club which is rooted to the foot of the Premier League table. The pressure group will hold a strategy meeting tomorrow night to debate their next move, following the resignation of McLean from his post as chairman and chief executive. The 62-year-old has been charged with assault following an incident at Tannadice shortly after last weekend's game between United and Hearts. In light of the criminal charge, and Mr McLean's decision to divest himself of his shares, the SPL announced it would not pursue immediate sanctions against the club following the alleged assault on BBC reporter John Barnes. The general purposes committee of the Scottish Football Association may well take a similar view when it meets on Tuesday. Meanwhile, UfC will not let matters rest. As part of their campaign to lobby for change, they will discuss plans for the creation of a Supporters Trust tomorrow.

The idea is to give fans the chance to pool their collective resources to acquire shares and gain a voice at board level. "It is one way that supporters can gain a meaningful percentage of shares to give them a very direct and real say in how the club operates," explained Derek Robertson, a UfC spokesman. The group would like to see the 12,000 unissued shares in United released, and although the club maintains it also wants to see wider share ownership, a spokes-man insisted the timing was not right. Robertson says he knows what the time is right for: "It is time for directors to disassociate themselves from the past, to find a speedy resolution to the sale of the McLean shares, and to start afresh with a democratic approach." ©Sunday Herald