Sir Alex Ferguson has today claimed in an interview with Radio 5 Live that he has never discussed which manager will replace him when he’s ready to retire.

There have been several managers who have been linked to the job over the years although unlike Ferguson, haven’t managed to maintain success. From Roy Keane to Mark Hughes, Sven-Göran Eriksson to Steve Bruce, United have been linked to them all, but Sir Alex reckons the decision needs to be made in a few years time when he’s ready to pack it in.

“Never discussed it – it is a dangerous game,” said Ferguson. “At this moment in time there are about half-a-dozen managers doing very well in the Premier League, all the others are fighting for their lives. Is that going to be the same in two or three years’ time when I’m ready to quit? Some may have lost their job. I think United need to have someone experienced. If I was coming into United today I would struggle because of the beast it is. When I came in we were in a valley because Liverpool were the dominant team and United were well adrift from that so we had to rebuild the club and it wasn’t easy, it took time. But the experience I had was the success from Aberdeen and that gave me a chance in terms of respect from the dressing room and gave me self-confidence I could do the job. If I was taken from the job in Aberdeen today it would be a much more difficult task even though I was successful.”