Sir Alex Ferguson has once again insisted that he will continue in the Manchester United hot-seat until his health deteriorates.

The 68-year-old has been in charge at Old Trafford since 1986 but has no immediate plans to retire.

He said:"I'm confident with the kind of person I am. I don't think I will be changing at my age now. Do you think I will change? The thing I hope is that my health is OK.

"When you get to 68 years of age, you are not guaranteed anything. You hope you wake up in the morning. Over the last three or four years, I have lost a few scouts who have died. Great scouts, absolutely brilliant. All in their 60s.

"You are faced with that when you get to my age, where you are going to funerals of people you worked with or friends. So you say to yourself, 'There for the Grace of God that I am still here.'

"And that is the only thing that determines you in connection with football. You couldn't possibly do your job unless you were healthy.

"You can talk about the successful managers right now who might be on everyone's list. But in two years, they may not be. Or even next year. So it's very difficult to say who would replace me when my time came.

"Manchester United would need somebody successful for that kind of job. Most clubs would look for the most successful manager on the horizon. But two years ahead, they may not be successful any more.

"It is a horrible game, a results industry and, as Roberto Mancini says, you can lose three games in Italy and get sacked. We're getting a little bit like that ourselves.

"You think of Peter Reid, Ruud Gullit and Bobby Robson at Newcastle, sacked just into the new season. When you stoop to that level you have absolutely no idea how to run a football club."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email