Fergie - United Need Experience

Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested that his successor as Manchester United manager would have to possess plenty of experience.

The hugely successful Scot is about to celebrate 24 years in charge at Old Trafford and has yet to give any indication about when he plans to retire.

The past week has arguably been one of Ferguson's most difficult during his time at United following the saga surrounding Wayne Rooney's future at the club.

Ferguson revealed last Tuesday that the striker wanted to leave the Red Devils before Rooney performed a U-turn by signing a new five-year contract.

The United boss feels his experience was a key factor in resolving the situation and that is why he believes a young manager would not be able to take charge of the club.

"I don't think it's harder for managers to deal with - I've just got the benefit of having been at the club for such a long time," Ferguson told Sirius XM.

"I have experienced a lot of things that do happen and there have been times in the past when I have gone down the same road.

"When you are the manager of our club, you have to have someone strong who can deal with all the issues and we have had to be strong over the years.

"That's why I don't think Manchester United could ever go down the road of having a young manager, to be honest with you.

"It's a job that needs a lot of experience and a lot of experience at the top end of the game.

"That's something for the future, but at the moment we have the benefit of my 24 years at the club, so fortunately that's the way we can deal with it.

"At Manchester United, you can never be surprised. There is always something happening in the club and there are always issues to deal with.

"I don't think you can deny that we got a lot of publicity that we didn't enjoy last week, but you have to deal with these situations and I think we dealt with it very well."