Friday, 20 July 2012 10:35

DURBAN: Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson (pic) admits age is catching up on him, reported The Sun.

A recent health scare has convinced the all-conquering manager that, at 70, he has to slow down. Ferguson was rushed to hospital in May when he suffered a persistent nose bleed at an event in Glasgow.

And he admitted: “We are all vulnerable to age aren’t we? There’s no question. It does not come without penalties.”

It was a sign that even he has to start taking things a bit easier.

“I just took too many flights that week — seven of them," he revealed.

“It was a bit silly to be flying as much as I did. Belfast, Berlin, Glasgow to Manchester, back to Belfast, it was seven flights in seven days. Maybe that was a way of telling me to slow down a bit in terms of travelling.”

Ferguson has always said he would continue at United as long he stayed healthy. He had a pacemaker fitted at 62 but has not had any other major health scares.

This one, he felt, was just a warning rather than anything to be worried about.

“It’s not as if it was to do with my heart,” he said.

And the Scot insists he has not lost his desire to bring the title back to Old Trafford.

Quite the opposite, in fact. he remains furious at the way his side lost the title on goal difference on a dramatic final day of the season to bitter rivals Manchester City.

“I’ve lost my temper and I’m angry. If you lose the league like that, it’s hard to swallow," he admitted.

“But once the season is over you have to say ‘Right, OK, we will just go again’. That is the great quality we have at this club.

“People may say City are the team to beat but I don’t agree. We are the team to beat because of the way we react, the way we have bounced back in the past.While United lost the title on goal difference, keeping the goals out was the problem, not scoring them.

And Ferguson, seeking a staggering 13th Premier League title, is hoping Wayne Rooney maintains his form in front of goal after hitting 32 last season - 27 in the league.

“It’s difficult to say whether he is at a peak or not but his goalscoring has certainly given us more,” he said.