Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson reveals he twice snubbed chance to be England manager--goal.com

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson reveals he twice snubbed chance to be England manager--goal.com

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he refused the chance to become England manager on two occasions in the past.

It is understood that the Red Devils manager was considered by the FA to replace Terry Venables in 1996 and he was reportedly approached again three years later after Glenn Hoddle’s departure.

The 68-year-old admits, however, that his Scottish roots were what kept him from becoming the country’s manager as well as his opinion that the Three Lions' position is a "poisoned chalice" and a "terrible job".

"I was offered the chance to manage the England team on a couple of occasions but, of course, it was just out of the question," Ferguson told Canadian television.

"It’s a poisoned chalice anyway. I think it’s a terrible job, plus the fact that I would have had a tremendous handicap being Scottish; no matter which way you look it, that’s important."

After England’s disappointing World Cup in South Africa, Ferguson believes that tiredness proved the key problem for the Three Lions in their demise.

"The English season is exhausting," he added.

"Look at December, for instance, when we play eight or nine games even though it’s the worst time of the year for the pitches, when they are heavier and the weather is at its worst.

"In the second half of the season, you then find lots of players are carrying little strains and pulls. But because of the importance of the games they keep on playing and, when they get to the end of the season and there’s an important tournament such as the World Cup, they are not 100 per cent."

With regards to Wayne Rooney after his less than impressive performances in South Africa, Ferguson was quick to jump to the defence of his star striker and insisted that the pressure got to the former Everton star.

"It was built up in the media that it was going to be his tournament, but don't forget Wayne has not got great experience of playing in World Cups," he said. "It was the expectation [the reason for Rooney's poor showings]. All the main players for whom the expectations were high had bad tournaments – [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, too.

"It's difficult to say why [Ronaldo performed below expectations]. I spoke to [the Portugal coach] Carlos Queiroz after the tournament and he was as baffled as anyone."

Ferguson also made his feelings known about France's "terrible" World Cup but insisted that full-back and skipper Patrice Evra wasn't solely to blame for what went wrong in the French camp.

"It was a team decision [to turn against Raymond Domenech], but the fact he was captain meant he was put forward as the team's spokesman," he continued.

"They made a decision they all regret now, a terrible decision, but it wasn't an individual, it was a collective decision that he, as captain, took to the coach. Since then the rebound has been on his shoulders and that's disappointing."

The Scot also believes that goal-line technology has to happen "absolutely" after Frank Lampard's 'goal' that wasn't given during England's 4-1 defeat to Germany and Ferguson went on to sympathise with the much-maligned Howard Webb after his performance as referee in the World Cup final.

"He was given an impossible task with the behaviour of the players. I think it got to the stage in the first half that showing a red card would have put him under pressure, criticism-wise," he added.

"A World Cup final, having a player sent off, it's not the done thing and you don't want to see that. The public doesn't want to see that, the spectators who have gone to the game don't want to see that, and he was left in that position.

"There was no way out for him. If he had sent a player off, he would have faced criticism. If he didn't send a player off, he would get criticism. I think at half-time he realised that, and in the second half, his momentum got less and less."