Nightmare for England fans

England fans heading from London to Old Trafford for next week's friendly international against Denmark face travel chaos.

Supporters were today warned not to travel by train on Sunday, 16 November as "it will not be possible" to make it in time for the 4pm kick-off. Rail operator Virgin urged fans to use their services on either Friday or Saturday or make other arrangements.

The match, which kicks off at 4pm, has been scheduled for a Sunday to avoid clashing with the previous day's Euro 2004 play-off games involving Scotland and Wales.

However, continuing engineering work on the West Coast main line - which links London, the North-West and Scotland - means under the current timetable, the first direct trains to Manchester do not leave London until mid-afternoon on Sundays.

Coaches are being laid on to replace trains for part of the journey but this, in turn, is likely to spell chaos on the roads on the day of the game as thousands of England supporters travelling from the capital elect to go by car instead.

Fans who do travel by rail on Friday or Saturday have been advised to reserve seats in advance as services are "likely to be very busy".

In a clear dig at the Football Association, Virgin said the "authorities were warned about this before arranging the match for a Sunday afternoon".

But the FA defended their decision. A spokesman said: "We regret that there may be disruption to the main network but rail and road links are beyond our control. Sunday was the only date available to us to play for the match against Denmark."