Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he is surprised by the dismissal from his post today of Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Chelsea this afternoon confirmed that they had sacked the Brazilian, who had overseen something of a slump in form, especially at home, that looks like it might prove terminal as far as the Blues' title challenge is concerned.

One might expect the Red Devils' manager, famed for his use of psychology and the underhand dark arts of 'mind games', to be rubbing his hands with glee as he watches one of United's main rivals for the Premier League crown implode.

Instead, the wily Scotsman, speaking to Manchester United's official website, appears surprised by the Chelsea board's decision, especially given the Brazilian's relatively brief time at the club.

"I'm very surprised. It's a shock that one. He only took the job seven months ago," said Ferguson.

"Scolari's a man of great experience. He took Brazil to the World Cup final and won it and he was the obvious choice to replace Avram Grant seven months ago."

And the sacking was held up by Ferguson as further evidence of the creeping malaise of impatience that is currently infecting football as well as society at large.

"Really it's a sign of the times, I'm afraid. There's absolutely no patience in the world today," he added.

"Football seems more volatile now. You can't always blame the press but they play a part. The way tabloid journalism is today, they're competing against the internet, they're competing against Sky News so therefore there is sensationalism every time there's a bad result. We've all been subjected to that over the years."

Ferguson also pointed to the brief time that Chelsea had actually struggled whilst Scolari was at the helm, another factor in the sacking that he found surprising.

"Having lost the European Cup final, there were still expectations for Chelsea to do well this year. It's really only in the last month that they've had a bad spell. So I feel the judgement [to sack Scolari] is really based on the last month, not the previous six months. It is a surprise," he concluded.