Ferguson is now ready to carry on to 2011, which would mark his 25-year anniversary at Old Trafford. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Ferguson, was due to quit in 2005, but changed his mind and is now ready to carry on to 2011, which would mark his 25-year anniversary at Old Trafford.

'I'm getting beyond the future now. I still have a lot of passion. I'm still happy,' he told the Daily Mirror on Friday.

'But I'm 66 now - maybe three years more, then I'll finish.' Ferguson has won 18 trophies after arriving at the club in November 1986 from Aberdeen and is keen for more.

United are still in line for the treble for the first time since 1999 and face Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Saturday.

They are also aiming to retain their league title and have already booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

But he did not want to be drawn on his potential successor.

'I have a great assistant in Carlos Queiroz. He will come into the reckoning,' he said.

'But we have owners and a chief executive who will choose the new man in three years' time.

'The thing about football is we have some potential young managers but, because of the dangers, the hazards of management, they may not be there in three years' time,' he said.

'The change in football is so much so quickly. If you're not successful in three games you could be away. All these young managers we've seen over the years are not there now.' -- AFP