Manchester United are insisting that despite recent comments, Alex Ferguson will stand down at the end of the season and that the hunt is on for a successor.
Ferguson hinted at the weekend that he may change his mind about retiring in the summer and stay on for another year, but United see it otherwise.
"As was always planned, we are about to embark on our search for a new manager. Nothing has changed," United's director of communications Paddy Harverson said today.
So far virtually all of the contenders for the job have ruled themselves out, including England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, Leeds coach David O'Leary, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Marcello Lippi at Juventus.
However Celtic manager Martin O'Neill suggested he might be interested when he refused to rule himself out of the running.
AFP