Peter White on the aftershock from Henning Berg's transfer

BLACKBURN Rovers fans, stunned by the shock departure of crowd favourite Henning Berg for Manchester United, should brace themselves for a period of dramatic transfer market action.

That can be the only outcome following yesterday's sensational £5 million switch by the Norwegian.

Rovers supporters, baffled by the deal, bombarded our offices with telephone calls as another member of the Ewood title-winning team left just days after Graeme Le Saux's unsurprising exit.

There could be more outgoings on the cards as manager Roy Hodgson really gets to grips with sorting out his squad.

But, most important of all, Rovers must be aware that they have got to make a couple of mega signings themselves, or risk losing a great deal of the goodwill that has been built up following the arrival of the new boss.

And they need to happen quickly to re-assure the supporters, and the remaining senior players at Ewood, that all the talk of the club's ambition was not simply that - talk.

On the surface, Berg's move to Old Trafford was a real stunner. The Norwegian has been one of the most consistent defenders in the Premiership over the past four years.

Many fans will be saddened to see him go, especially as he will now make United so much stronger.

But you can see some logic in the decision.

Berg will be 29 in a couple of weeks time, Rovers have brought in Stephane Henchoz for £3 million and he is a similar type of player who will be 23 next month and already has a stack of international caps.

Intriguingly, United tried to snatch Henchoz from Hamburg and offered slightly more than Rovers, but he opted for Ewood instead. Rovers also had a surplus of central defenders.

At £5 million for a man who cost £400,000, it looks very good business.

But the fans aren't interested in business, they want the best team on the pitch and that's why the club cannot afford any delay in making their mark as BUYERS, not sellers.

Berg made the move saying he hoped it would help calm the feelings between the clubs who have not always seen eye to eye over the transfers of Roy Keane, Alan Shearer (twice), David May and Rovers' bid for Eric Cantona.

"Relations between Blackburn and Manchester United have not always been the best," he said.

"But Blackburn have let me go and, hopefully, this will improve the relationship."

Berg has been chased by Alex Ferguson for a long time and he added: "I have come to one of the biggest clubs in Europe, if not the world, and when you have a chance like that you take it.

"If you want to improve yourself as a footballer, you want to play with the best and that's Manchester United.

"You can never guarantee winning anything, but with Manchester United the chances are better than with any other club."

Rovers now have to convince their own supporters, by deeds not words, that they too are going to have a chance to win trophies again in the near future.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.