Relaxed and friendly. Chief superintendent Gerry Donnellan of Greater Manchester Police repeated those words over and over again yesterday.

They summed up, he said, how his officers will police Wednesday's Uefa Cup final. They also defined exactly what he expected of the red, white and blue army of Rangers fans set to invade his city.

"We will be taking a relaxed and friendly policing style next Wednesday," Mr Donnellan told the Scottish press after meeting supporters' groups at Ibrox yesterday afternoon. "We would appreciate if that sort of style was reciprocated by the fans."

Manchester is, of course, no stranger to big events. It hosted the Commonwealth Games - in the same stadium where Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg, their Russian opponents, will meet next week. The city's two big clubs - City and United - clash every season. But, this game, said Mr Donnellan, was of more significance.

"This is bigger than a city derby," he said. The Herald understands his force has cancelled unscheduled leave. It has also drafted in officers from Strathclyde, led by the Scottish force's chief superintendent Robin Howe. Another 30 Russian law enforcement officials will join their fans from St Petersburg.

Exact details on the number of officers and the cost of the policing operation have not been revealed, but thousands of police officers, stewards and even volunteers (first recruited for the Commonwealth Games in 2002) will be mobilised.

Manchester yesterday even signalled it would turn a blind eye to Scottish and Russian supporters flouting the city's strict ban on public drinking. "We won't tell anybody not to drink," said Mr Donnellan.

The assistant chief executive of Greater Manchester Police, Vicky Rosin, went further.

Trying to stop fans enjoying a pint would be like telling them to "stop breathing". Police, however, will not hesitate to deal with supporters who do not reciprocate the "relaxed and friendly" mood.

Ms Rosin outlined a huge and expanded programme for fans arriving without tickets - including five big screens in three fans' zones with space for some 24,000 people.

Pubs and clubs in the city can cater for perhaps as many again. And, for those who want more from their visit to Manchester than a drink, there will be special volunteers on hand to point out the sights, including the town hall, which will be open for free for anybody wanting to catch a look at the Uefa Cup itself.

Just a week ago, Manchester had been telling fans without tickets not to come. Yesterday, Mr Donnellan and Ms Rosin stressed they had always anticipated ticketless supporters would turn up - they just did not want to encourage them as part of a balanced approach.

Now, however, they appear resigned to a mass invasion from the north - and delighted at the prospect of a £5m payoff for the city's economy.

Greater Manchester authorities anticipate some 100,000 fans, including Russians.

Zenit yesterday confirmed to The Herald it had sold 9000 briefs and did not expect to distribute any more tickets. Rocketing inflation on the cost of flights - and a desperate shortage of hotel rooms - has convinced thousands of Russians not to make the trip.

"There just aren't enough aircraft," said Alexander Alekhanov, president of Nevsky Front, Zenit's biggest and oldest official fan club. "We have chartered three planes, including a Boeing 747, but a lot of people who wanted to come are not going to make it." That, he accepted, may be good news for Rangers.

Rangers fans, too, were last night warned of the costs - financial and practical - of making the trip to Manchester. Virgin Trains warned supporters without bookings not to try to catch a train to the game.

Manchester's tourism authorities urged fans to look as far away as Leeds and Liverpool for hotel rooms, England's Highways Agency flagged up fears of congestion on the main motorways south, and Rangers security head Kenny Scott warned supporters to be on the lookout for forged tickets, which have already been found in circulation.

Even fans who secured tickets had problems yesterday. Some stood for as long as three-and-a-half hours to collect prebooked briefs at Ibrox. But even the wait could not spoil their mood. As Mr Donnellan left the Rangers ground, the fans he saw were "relaxed and friendly".