United manager sees McClaren as successor
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Alex Ferguson wants to control the succession to the manager's job at Manchester United when he moves "upstairs" and believes Steve McClaren, his former deputy, is the man to take over from him.
Ferguson wants to be the one who names his replacement when he moves on, and he favours the Middlesbrough manager. Ferguson has so far kept his ideas away from the board, as he did a year ago when he changed his mind about giving up the manager's job. McClaren moved on from Old Trafford a couple of seasons ago to take the job at Boro because he thoughthe would not be the next manager of United.
Ferguson apparently favours McClaren because he is known to the players and he has proved his willingness to work with Ferguson.
The United manager feels himself to be in a strong position because of his success this season, and the possibility of a takeover behind the scenes by his Irish racing friends, J P McManus and John Magnier. The Scot may never have been in a better position to dictate the club's next managerial step. His current No 2, Carlos Queiroz, would apparently have a role under Ferguson's plan.
McClaren could also be persuaded to leave Middlesbrough, where he has taken them to the middle of the table but showed in the past that he was interested in a "bigger" club when he was linked with Leeds United last summer. Ferguson could still have a leading say at the club while taking a step back from day-to-day affairs.
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