Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he admires what Pep Guardiola did at Barcelona.

Guardiola has been mentioned as Ferguson's successor at Old Trafford.

The Scot said: "I spoke to Pep a little while ago and he said that he has no interest in getting back into management at the moment. His record is fantastic. The trophies he won at Barcelona were quite exceptional and that is his CV, he wins trophies.<-> "Of course but Barcelona have always had that style and played attractive football.

"He increased that by putting a new work ethic into the players in terms of their work-rate. They work extremely hard to get the ball back and if you combine that with their possession it makes a fantastic team."