Sir Alex On Retirement

Sir Alex Ferguson has laughed off claims he has earmarked a retirement date.

Tabloid speculation suggested the Scot would bring down the curtain on his epic reign at the end of 2010/11 but Sir Alex jovially warned Fleet Street's finest he'll be around for years to come, after singling out the original story's author for banter at Friday's press briefing.

"I hope you're retiring, Bill [Thornton, Daily Star]," smiled the boss. "You deserve to. That's a last hurrah if I ever heard one! It's absolute rubbish, I've no intention of retiring. The only thing that determines my staying here is my health. Unfortunately for you lot I'm bloody rudely healthy! So you can live to suffer me. You'll be gone before I'm gone, don't you worry. The way most of you write, I'll be banning most of you anyway!"

Asked if the exhilaration of the title race has sustained him, Sir Alex replied: "I don't think it keeps you healthy, it's not good for you. But it's there. You have to accept pressure in life and I can deal with it."