Sir Alex Ferguson last night promised he will only retire if Manchester United are top dogs in English football.
After a month of uncertain smoke signals about Fergie's shelf life at Old Trafford, the United boss has finally decided his final curtain must wait until they have reclaimed their Premier League crown from Chelsea.
Speaking at a Lord's Taverners tribute to former England coach Sir Bobby Robson, Ferguson insisted he would not leave his successor a team in decline like the one he inherited from Ron Atkinson in 1986.
He refused to rule out retirement before he reaches the 25th anniversary of his spell in charge of United - a milestone he will reach in 18 months - but Fergie said: "If we hit a bad spell, it would not be the right time to go.
"I would not want to put the new manager into a situation where he was taking over a bad team. I want to leave United in a good, healthy position."
Ferguson has already performed one U-turn on retirement, announcing his intention to quit eight years ago only to reconsider his position, and he added: "In 2002, I made the decision on a whim. The age 60 sounded good, I'd won the European Cup and a lot of people were saying, 'You'll never do that again.'
"There are a lot of silly things that go through your mind - one line was that Manchester United didn't want another Matt Busby situation and all that nonsense, but after I made the decision the performance of the team went downhill and it was a nightmare.
"On New Year's Eve, we went out for for dinner and when we came back I fell asleep on the couch. My wife, Cathy, came in with the three boys behind her, she kicked my foot and said, 'You are not retiring'!"
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