Sir Alex Ferguson has hinted at serving a further “two or three years” as Manchester United manager before suggesting Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho or David Moyes as his potential replacements.

The Scot has enjoyed a glittering career with the Red Devils, leading them to 12 Premier League titles, two Champions League triumphs and five FA Cups in his 26 years at the club.

And, despite having celebrated his 71st birthday on New Year’s Eve, the former Aberdeen boss is not ready for retirement yet.

“I’m hoping to stay for a bit of time. There is no one on the agenda, I can assure you,” he told reporters.

“It’s very difficult as names have been bandied about and football is precarious. You could be talking about one of the potentially exciting young managers – is he going to be here in two years?

“I think top managers will always be in demand – Guardiola, Mourinho, David Moyes, there are a lot of successful managers out there and I don’t know what their plans are.

“Who knows where they will be in two or three years.”

As Goal.com exclusively revealed in September, Sir Alex has turned his attentions to identifying a suitable successor and has earmarked Guardiola and Mourinho as two able candidates.

However, with United cementing their seven-point lead over champions Manchester City with a resounding 4-0 win at Wigan on New Year’s Day, Ferguson is clearly still enjoying the rigours of management.

“It was a perfect start to 2013. It has given us a seven-point lead with 17 games left,” he added.