HE'S CARRYING ON (IF THEY LET HIM)

Last updated : 01 January 2006 By Ed

Speaking on Friday:

"You have to enjoy your job and I feel good, very good.

"Despite people suggesting my time is up as manager of Manchester United, I am determined to carry on.

"It is not getting harder at all. I was up at 5am this morning and in the office at 6.25 intending to go to the gym.

"But when I looked at my desk and saw what I had to go through, I bottled it. Despite people suggesting my time is up as manager of Manchester United I am determined to carry on."

And this from The Scotsman:

"You change because you have to.

"The game itself changes and on a number of different levels. For example, I now have a staff of 36, when I once had eight. We have sports scientists, nutritionists and the like, and they're great, they do a valuable job in preparing players properly for the demands of the modern game.

"If I had only the eight, I'd still be running around, trying to attend to everything myself. You do mellow, you become more cautious in your decisions, you take more time to try to make sure they're right. When I was younger, decisions would be made much more quickly, almost impulsively. That's experience, or ageing, if you like.

"When I started, most of the players were my contemporaries. Then came a time when they were young enough to be my sons. Now, many of them are young enough to be my grandsons. Obviously, that changes the way you talk to them and how you handle them.

"And when I give a team talk, everybody I'm addressing is a millionaire. The talk itself and the manner in which it is done will, naturally, be much different from what it was years ago. Of course, I've lost my temper over the years, but every manager has.

"And there is a lot of myth. The hairdryer and the teacups are a couple of examples. You know, I read an article in a supposedly responsible, quality newspaper which said that, when I started, I would go behind the stand at East Stirlingshire to practise losing my temper.

"I mean, have you ever heard such nonsense? I was going to say you couldn't make it up, but obviously somebody has. When I was younger, decisions would be made much more quickly, almost impulsively. That's experience, or ageing, if you like."