Fergie driven on by silver trophies – not jubilees

AS Alex Ferguson prepares to celebrate 25 years as Manchester United manager, he has claimed it is the trophies he still hopes to win that drive him on, not what has already been achieved.

Ferguson knows what is coming in the build-up to November 6 — the date when he will celebrate his silver jubilee at Old Trafford.

He was genuinely surprised and delighted that Seattle Sounders started the ball rolling by presenting him with a replica shirt last week, baring his name and the number 25.

It is going to be an inescapable feature of the next few months as United look to retain their Premier League title and find a way of overcoming Barcelona in the Champions League.

Ferguson is comfortable with that, chiefly because he has long ago dismissed the concept of spending more time than is necessary looking back on a remarkable quarter-of-a-century, during which time Manchester United have annexed 36 trophies.

“If you sat back and thought about it all, I suppose you would consider how much of my life it is but it doesn’t really bother me too much,” Ferguson said.

“One of the reasons you probably don’t go down that road is that you have other years ahead.

“It is like everything else, you are better with a shadow in front of you rather than behind.”

The silverware Ferguson has amassed means that, now aged almost 70, he has no need to worry about losing his job.

Funnily enough, Ferguson does not view 25 years as a particular milestone.

Having spent so much time at Old Trafford, one season very much rolls into the next.

“Seattle giving me the strip was not something I asked for or expected or even thought about,” he said.

“Life rolls on. Twenty-five years, 26, 20.

Ferguson is notorious for allowing the fleeting elation of success disappear. It is one of the traits which makes him the man he has become.

“I have the trophies but the ones I want to win are more important,” he said. “You want to chase that next one. The expectation gets greater the longer you are at a club. That is the one aspect of the job. You have to win.”

Meanwhile, Ferguson admits he believes Liverpool are a title danger once again.

“Liverpool went off the radar for a bit. They are now back on it. Long-term you know they are going to be there,” said Ferguson.