Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson insists
Manchester United's success will
extend well beyond his career at
Old Trafford and believes the
involvement of former players
has aided the club in recent years. - Fergie ready to rotate Ferguson is tipped to step down
as United boss in the coming
years, with his successful 27-year
tenure etching him into Premier
League folklore. But the Scot was quick to deflect
the plaudits from himself, insisting
United's significant trophy haul
since he took over the club in
1986 is due to the club's stability. In an interview with twentyfour7
football magazine, Ferguson said
it would not be "impossible" for
his successor to continue United's
dominance and offered some
advice for the Red Devils' future managers. "With the structure we have
here, it can't be an impossible
job," he said. "What more could
you want? Imagination is always
important. The other most
important thing is don't change who you are. "It happens, you see it time and
time again, a manager comes in
and tries to change himself. Your
job is not to change you, it's to
change what you're taking over. "Change the team, the philosophy
of a football club to your
philosophy. Never change who you
are. That really will hold you in
good stead, simply because the
players understand what you are, who you are." Ferguson has been forced to look
at the next generation of
players, with veterans Ryan Giggs
and Paul Scholes nearing the end
of their careers, although the
United manager expects them both to remain involved with the
club, similar to former player
Nicky Butt. "Looking at my present crop, it's
difficult, but the likes of Giggs and
Scholes will be part of the
structure here," Ferguson told
twentyfour7. "Darren Fletcher in
the long term possibly and Nicky Butt is with the reserves. "We try to get as many former
players in the set-up as we can,
we've got a good back-up. We
look ahead because that is
succession planning in terms of
structure - they've the experience of being at the club,
being a player here, knowing
what it takes to be a winner. It's
good to have it here, keep it
within the club."