A SENIOR member of Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet team has emulated Sir Alex Ferguson by describing the leadership tribulations as "squeaky bum time".

The legendary Scots manager and Labour supporter famously used the phrase to describe the mounting pressure during the 2002/03 Premier League title race between United and Arsenal .

Shadow cabinet minister Sadiq Khan yesterday said it summed up Labour following infighting and speculation about Ed Miliband's leadership in the run up to the 2015 General Election.

He appealed for his colleagues to "get on the pitch and help us", instead of "complaining from the sidelines". Asked if he had seen evidence of unrest within Labour ranks, Mr Khan said: "There's a great Alex Ferguson saying ... where in a season when Man United and Newcastle were neck and neck, he said it's squeaky bum time. And I think it's squeaky bum time for Labour."

He added that in the past whenever Labour had lost an election, the party spends a lengthy period in opposition during which "we fight among ourselves and often spilt".

But he said: "What we're trying to do is something not done since 1974 - that's to be a one-term opposition, and bounce back from the second-worst result in our history."

Mr Khan said colleagues had failed to "understand the rhythm of opposition" in the new fixed-term parliament era. A ComRes poll yesterday put the party on 34 per cent, four points ahead of the Tories.

But only 20 per cent of those surveyed said they could imagine Mr Miliband as prime minister