Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he'd like Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger to succeed him at Old Trafford. Inter Milan boss Mourinho hasn't been shy in declaring an ambition to take the United job, while Wenger would be a big outsider.

"I am glad it is not my decision," Ferguson told CNN. "But whoever it is, it needs to be someone with experience.

"Manchester United is a massive club. The club I joined in 1986 is nothing like the one it is today."

Clearly, Jose Mourinho would fit the criteria, given the trophy-laden time he has spent with Porto, Chelsea and now Inter Milan.

The problem is candidates come and go very quickly.

It is not that long ago Steve McClaren was talked about as a potential successor. The same is also true of Bryan Robson and Roy Keane, neither of whom are even in the management game just now.

"I like Jose Mourinho," said Ferguson.

"He is a good guy and someone I get on very well with.

"But people forget how quickly the game changes. The job of a football manager is a pretty fragile one.

"You can be on the very top of the world and then after two defeats you are the worst team ever.

"Hopefully I will be here for another two or three years. Who knows what will have happened in that time.

"Thinking about Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger or whoever is going to be impossible."