Wembley chief executive fears stadium may not be ready by May

The chief executive of the new Wembley has expressed fears that the new £757m stadium may not be ready for the 2006 FA Cup final.

Speaking on BBC Five LIve Michael Cunnah said: "We're going 100% for the Cup final at Wembley, but nobody can guarantee it."

A harsh winter, forecast to be the coldest since the mid 1960s, could mean further delays.

However Cunnah said he remained hopeful it would be ready and handed over to his team by the contractor Multiplex on 31 March or very soon after.

"If there is a deep freeze, the builders will find it hard digging the pitch and putting foundations in," said Cunnah. "It'll be finished when it's finished."

Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick has already expressed doubt that the stadium will be finished.

"If Multiplex is true to its word we have every chance of staging the Cup final at Wembley," he said.

"Equally, we have taken the prudent step to book Cardiff's Millennium Stadium."

Multiplex, which has always maintained that the stadium will be ready on time, revealed last week that costs for its construction were expected to overrun by some £75m.