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Ferguson too addicted to winning to think of retirement

By Angus MacKinnon AFP - Monday, May 12 01:02 am

LONDON (AFP) - Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted retirement is the last thing on his mind as he savours the tenth Premier League title at the helm of Manchester United.

Pushed to the wire by Chelsea, United were crowned champions of England for the 17th time in the club's history after a 2-0 win over Wigan on Sunday and few would bet against them drawing level with Liverpool's 18 titles at the end of next season.

Ferguson turns 67 on December 31 and there has been speculation he could opt to go out on a high if his players beat Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21.

But as he celebrated victory in what has been an intriguing title battle, the Scot insisted nothing could be further from his mind.

"Retire? That wife of mine just bullies me, so she'd throw me out of the door at seven o'clock in the morning! So that's a definite no."

Ferguson added: "I am proud to have survived for so long, but it is easier for me than the rest because I am at such a great club. How would I be without this? Please tell me."

Ferguson believes the euphoria of the league triumph can carry his side to glory in Moscow. "The great thing is we are bouncing into the final," he said.

Chelsea boss Avram Grant paid a gracious and generous tribute to Ferguson's achievement. "He is a great manager and a great person," the Israeli said. "It is amazing what he did."

But the man who succeeded Jose Mourinho in the Chelsea hotseat last September insisted his players could bounce back in time for the showdown in Russia.

"It is a game we have been dreaming about being in," he said. "When you come to the final you want to win. We wanted to win the league as well but it wasn't ever in our hands."

Cristiano Ronaldo, with a first-half penalty, and Ryan Giggs, on the day he equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 Manchester United appearances, were United's match winners against an obdurate Wigan side.

The Red Devils had been given a huge pre-match boost by the return from injury of Wayne Rooney and the England forward's influence was to prove decisive.

After winning the first-half penalty that enabled Ronaldo to claim his 41st goal of the season, Rooney played in Giggs for the 80th-minute strike that ended any doubt about how the afternoon would end.

Equally influential however was the fact that all the key decisions made by referee Steve Bennett went United's way.

The official denied Wigan an early penalty when Rio Ferdinand blocked a shot with his upper arm, awarded a debatable one to United and failed to issue a second yellow card to Paul Scholes for what was a blatant body check by the United midfielder on Wilson Palacios.

Even if they had beaten Bolton, Chelsea would have lost out to United on goal difference.

As it turned out, Kevin Davies's last-minute equaliser earned Bolton a draw at Stamford Bridge after Andriy Shevchenko had kept their hopes alive with his first goal since December 26.

At the other end of the table, Danny Murphy's 75th-minute strike gave Fulham a 1-0 win at FA Cup finalists Portsmouth that secured the west London club's top-flight status.

Fulham's survival came at the expense of Birmingham and Reading, who will both be playing Championship football next season, along with already-relegated Derby.

Birmingham and Reading went down fighting, winning their final matches in convincing fashion, respectively beating Blackburn 4-1 and Derby 4-0.

Reading finished level with Fulham on points but were condemned by an inferior goal difference while Birmingham finished a point further back.

Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted he would consider whether he should continue as the club's manager while Birmingham's co-owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, are also considering their future after being abused by fans.

Arsenal, who won 1-0 at Sunderland thanks to a Theo Walcott strike, and Liverpool, 2-0 winners at Tottenham, finished third and fourth respectively, ensuring they will enter the final qualifying round for next season's Champions League.

Everton claimed fifth place and a UEFA Cup spot by beating Newcastle 3-1 in their final match, thanks to a double from Aiyegbeni Yakubu and a Joleon Lescott strike. Michael Owen found the net for Newcastle.

What was almost certainly Sven-Goran Eriksson's last competitive match in charge of Manchester City ended in an ignominious 8-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough.

A hat-trick for Brazilian Afonso Alves, two Stewart Downing goals and strikes from Adam Johnson, Fabio Rochemback and Jeremie Aliadiere enabled Boro to finish their season on a high.

City's fate was sealed after captain Richard Dunne was sent off for a foul on Tuncay Sanli that enabled Downing to open the scoring with a 16th-minute penalty.

Gareth Barry, playing what may have been his final match for the club before an expected summer move to Liverpool, was on the scoresheet in Aston Villa's 2-2 draw at West Ham which was enough to ensure Martin O'Neill's men finished sixth.