Sir Alex Ferguson

Fergie: Three More Years For Me Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has indicated that he will be at the help of the club for three more years, and then retire.

The question of Ferguson's retirement has been the subject of much debate. There had been muted suggestions that he was on the verge of retiring two years ago after three years without major silverware (partly due to comments from him), but he has since turned things around in style.

That talk has died down as a result, at least for the moment, but touching upon the subject himself, Fergie indicated that he is planning to retire in around three years.

"I still have a lot of passion," Ferguson was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror. "I'm still happy. But I'm 66 now - maybe three years more, then I'll finish."

That, of course, will mean a historic 25 years in the job for him. Finding someone to step into his shoes will be as much of a challenge, and while he backs Carlos Quieroz, he insists that a final responsibility would rest with the owners not him.

"I have a great assistant in Carlos Queiroz," he said. "He will come into the reckoning. "But we have owners and a chief executive who will choose the new man in three years' time.

"The thing about football is we have some potential young managers, but because of the dangers, the hazards of management, they may not be there in three years' time."