Ferguson plays down 2012 Olympic role

SIR Alex Ferguson has played down renewed speculation that he is ready take charge of a British football team at the 2012 Olympics – joking he would merely be happy to be alive by the time of the London Games.

Key figures – including Prime Minister Gordon Brown and London Organising Committee chairman Lord Sebastian Coe – have publicly courted the veteran Manchester United manager for the role.

The potential formation of a British team has stirred up controversy, with the FAs of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales refusing to be involved for fear of losing their independent status within FIFA. Ferguson, 66, insisted he had no intention of making firm decisions over such a distant prospect. "I won't involve myself in that, crikey – it's four years away and I may not be alive then," he said. "That's why I say my prayers."