Ferdinand backs Ferguson to continue

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will remain at Old Trafford for many years to come, according to Rio Ferdinand.

The England centre-half, who captained the Red Devils to the Barclays Premier League and Champions League double this season in the injury-enforced absence of Gary Neville, is convinced that the Scot’s promise to step aside within the next three years will prove wide of the mark.

Ferguson already has form in that respect after aborting his first attempt at retirement in 2002 when his continued passion for his job proved too great a pull.

He will, however, be approaching 70 by the end of the 2010-11 season, and recently vowed that his career would not extend into his eighth decade.

But Ferdinand is convinced that when it comes to decision time, Ferguson will once again find it too hard to walk away given the fire that still burns within.

“I don’t think he’ll leave in two or three years – I think his passion for the game will overtake everything else,” Ferdinand told Sky Sports News.

“The manager loves football, he eats, breathes and every minute of the day is thinking and talking about it, so I can’t see him leaving.”