Published: Today at 00:38
AGE, Alex Ferguson admits, is finally catching up with him.
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A recent health scare has convinced Manchester United’s all-conquering manager that, at 70, he has to slow down.
Fergie was rushed to hospital in May when he suffered a persistent nose bleed at an event in Glasgow.
And he admitted: “We are all vulnerable to age aren’t we?
“There’s no question. It does not come without penalties.”
It was a sign that even he has to start taking things a bit easier.
He revealed: “I just took too many flights that week — seven of them.
“It was a bit silly to be flying as much as I did. Belfast, Berlin, Glasgow to Manchester, back to Belfast, it was seven flights in seven days. Maybe that was a way of telling me to slow down a bit in terms of travelling.”
Ferguson has always said he would continue at United as long he stayed healthy.
He had a pacemaker fitted at 62 but has not had any other major health scares.
This one, he felt, was just a warning rather than anything to be worried about.
He said: “It’s not as if it was to do with my heart.”
And the Scot insists he has not lost his desire to bring the title back to Old Trafford.
Quite the opposite, in fact. The United boss remains furious at the way his side lost the title on goal difference on a dramatic final day of the season to bitter rivals Manchester City.
He admitted: “I’ve lost my temper and I’m angry. If you lose the league like that, it’s hard to swallow.
“But once the season is over you have to say ‘Right, OK, we will just go again’. That is the great quality we have at this club.
“People may say Manchester City are the team to beat but I don’t agree. We are the team to beat because of the way we react, the way we have bounced back in the past.”
While United lost the title on goal difference, keeping the goals out was the problem — not scoring them.
And the boss, seeking a staggering 13th Premier League title, is hoping Wayne Rooney maintains his form in front of goal after hitting 32 last season, 27 in the league.
Fergie said: “It’s difficult to say whether he is at a peak or not but his goalscoring has certainly given us more.”
And he wants more out of Roo’s strike partner Danny Welbeck. He said: “He got nine goals last season but if you are going to be a top striker you have to get 20 — and that will happen to him.”
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