Liverpool may not emerge as serious contenders in this season's Premier League title race but Sir Alex Ferguson is already rattled by the prospect that they soon could be.
His overly defensive reaction to Kelly Cates in the immediate aftermath of Manchester United's Champions League draw with Benfica on Wednesday night proved as much.
The ITV reporter's probe as to whether David de Gea could see himself usurped as United's goalkeeper following Anders Lindegaard's sturdy showing was far from unreasonable.
However it drew a brazen response from Ferguson, who accused her of "just looking for stupid little things". But it was actually the United boss that was looking for stupid little things.
Ferguson's backlash was more likely to stem from the fact that Cates is, despite no longer using her maiden name, Kenny Dalglish's daughter rather than her line of questioning.
Dalglish was sitting comfortably during his first term in the Anfield hot seat when Ferguson took the reins at United and is the only man able to get under the Old Trafford boss' skin.
They enjoy a long-standing friendship, which dates back over four decades, but it is one which contains an intense level of ferocity whenever they have been in direct competition.
But as his freezing of relations with former Reds boss Rafael Benitez proved, it is the threat the club can pose to United, especially under Dalglish, which now occupies Ferguson's mind.
Memories of the ridicule he suffered at the hands of the Dalglish clan following a 3-3 draw at Anfield in April 1988, after which the Kop boss declared reporters would hear more sense from baby daughter Lauren than Ferguson, which entered his thoughts during this interview.
He has famously boasted about knocking their North West rivals "off their f****** perch", which was the end product of nearly two decades of barnstorming domestic dominance.
Liverpool never truly recovered from Dalglish's shock resignation 20 years ago, documented best by their domestic stagnation which afforded United 18 years of playing catch-up.
And now that Dalglish has returned to his self-proclaimed spiritual home, the rivalry has not only been renewed but also intensified in the extreme.
Few, if any, Premier League managers publicly refer to their United counterpart as 'Fergie'.
But Dalglish's initial meeting with his opposite number in an Old Firm reserves fixture in 1969 ensures that he will never pander to the honours system's airs and graces.
His attempt to command respect from referees on the back of contentious decisions given against Liverpool in their first four league games also had a tinge of mind games to it.
The threats to United's Premier League throne from Chelsea and, especially, local rivals Manchester City may be Ferguson's immediate priority.
At a full 10 years younger than Ferguson, time is on his side as he retains the same level of exuberance and cuttingly dry humour since he moved south of the border.
In stark contrast, his adversary's regularly perceived petulance suggests a manager finally under his first real spell of pressure for a considerable period, as proved by his outburst at Cates.
It is clear that Ferguson is already looking over his shoulder in anticipation of when Dalglish's Liverpool signal their resurgence by threatening to finally reclaim their perch.