Britney's Not a Bally Member

Britney Spears's former manager, Larry Rudolph, is coy about reports that the two are back in business together – but says he's met with the pop star recently and is happy to report she's "in great shape."

"I've seen her a few times over the past week or two. I've spent some time with her just socially. I've gone up to the house. I've sat with her. She's in great shape," he said Thursday while promoting his latest project, Rock the Cradle, on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS FM radio show. "I couldn't be happier to see the condition she's in. But this is not a time to talk about business with her."



Addressing Spears's recent troubles, Rudolph said: "What she needs now is she needs the public to be on her side and root for her, because she deserves it and that means a lot to her."

One thing's clear: Rudolph is in Spears's corner. He praised her recent appearance on How I Met Your Mother, and told Seacrest that if he was advising Spears, he'd suggest that she "do another little thing like that" soon.

When Seacrest asked about other forces back in the singer's life – namely her parents – Rudolph replied: "She needs people around her who are there for the right reasons."

In terms of Spears's future, he said "I can't think of a situation where somebody's been set up for a bigger comeback than that girl."