Another year?

Ferguson wants to stay on as United coach

Alex Ferguson had said he wanted to step down at the end of the season. Shaun Botterill/ Getty Images/Allsport

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Alex Ferguson may not be stepping down as Manchester United manager after all.

The English champion said Tuesday that the Scottish coach had approached the club about remaining manager beyond the end of this season.

"The board has entered into discussions with Sir Alex and his advisors on a new contract," the club said in a statement.

Ferguson, 60, announced last year he would retire at the end of this season, but there have been increasing signs he will stay on for another year or longer.

Manchester United has had difficulty in trying to line up a successor for Ferguson, who has guided the club to seven league titles in nine years, including the last three in a row.

The list of candidates includes Roma's Fabio Capello, Celtic's Martin O'Neill and England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. Still under contract, they could be available in a year or more from now.

Ferguson had set his sights on bowing out in May by winning the Champions Cup in Hampden Park in his native Glasgow. But an even bigger lure could be the prospect of going out by winning the 2003 Champions League final at Old Trafford.

Knighted in 1999, Ferguson is considered among the greatest British soccer managers of all time. In addition to the league titles, he has guided Manchester United to four FA Cup triumphs. In 1999, the Reds completed an unprecedented treble of the league, FA Cup and Champions Cup.

Ferguson has engineered a dramatic turnaround for the Reds this season.

In December, Manchester United had lost its sixth league game and was 11 points off the league lead, prompting Ferguson to say it would take "a miracle" to win a fourth straight championship.

But the Reds have been on a tear since then, and are back on top of the table with 51 points, two ahead of Newcastle and Liverpool and three ahead of Arsenal. Bookmakers make United an odds-on favorite to win the title again.

Winger Ryan Giggs was among those backing calls for Ferguson to stay.

"There has been so much speculation about the new manager, or lack of one, it's difficult to know what to believe -- but it would be great if he was boss next season," he said.

 

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