Sir Alex Ferguson after his final game at Old Trafford

Sir Alex, you've had some fantastic days in your career at Manchester United, how does today compare? Oh it's fantastic, what a send-off, I was ready for bubbling there for a bit but I mean the start, going out and all those flags and the atmosphere today was unbelievable, the whole game. I'm very proud of my fans, they were great, really great. How emotional were you inside and do you have to keep yourself in check? I've had a few days of sort of a wobble and a bit but you just have to gather yourself a wee bit and that's what I had to do today, they were great. In many ways was it appropriate and typical, you left it late, a bit difficult for yourself, not quite in what they call Fergie time but... No, no, no and the fourth official was going to pop seven minutes and it killed him but the boys did great, it was a good game actually, some great football played from Swansea and from us. Also as well, when you looked at the game itself, how difficult was it to see it as a normal game? Well they said that to the players, there's only one way we can express ourselves the proper way and that's to perform properly, work hard, that was the foundation for today and they all did that, they all worked hard and they played some great football, particularly in the first half, so I'm really proud of them. A bit of housekeeping, I didn't see before the game, no Wayne Rennie at all today, what was the reason for that? Well I don't think Wayne was keen to play simply because he's asked for a transfer, I think he wants to think through in his mind, I think that's a good idea, we're not going to let him go and I think he's maybe just a little bit frustrated that he's taken off once or twice in the last few weeks. So has he actually asked for a transfer? Yeah, he's asked, yeah. Okay, going back to obviously your big day, I'm sure that story in itself, there'll be a lot more to hear on that, when did you actually decide, actually I'm going to go? Because you've always said, well I'm fit and healthy and enjoying myself, I'll carry on and it doesn't look like there's any sign of that changing. Round about last Christmas. As long ago as that? Yeah. And what were the factors that made you decide time's up? Well basically things changed when Cathy's sister died, you know, and she's isolated a lot now and I think over a lot of my own time, for 47 years she's been the leader of the family, worked after her three sons and sacrificed for me, now she's got her grandchildren, they all don't now and I think she's lost her best friend, her sister Bridget, so I think over time, that was important. Also to go out a winner, that is really important to this club, to go out a winner, it's the most important thing I've ever wanted to do here, to be a winner. How difficult was it once you made up your mind, A, to keep going and B, keep it a secret? It was very difficult, there were some times when we nearly burted out to the family, you know, the grandchildren and we told our sons around about March, you know, and my brother didn't even know until Tuesday night, you know, because we wanted to, I wanted to tell the players first really, the players and my staff and unfortunately there was rumours going around Tuesday, whatever it comes from, you never know, our club's a sith, you know, stuff leaks out, it shouldn't leak out, but we then started to speed up a bit. Is it even possible for you to look back and think what you achieved with Manchester United from when you arrived here 26 years ago, what you've actually done, not just what you've won but also the way the club has transformed? Well, I mean, it's hard to look back, I've never done that, you know, I think I've got plenty of time to do it now, but I think that the most important achievement, without a doubt, was winning the first league. Once we won the first league, the door opened and we just grew and grew and grew and through that time with some fantastic teams, some of the players were here today, some great players and I've been honoured to manage those players, you know, and that has been a great experience to do that, all different personalities, all different cultures, that changed maybe 15 years ago when we started bringing foreign players in, a different way of handling them and that has been a fantastic challenge of management. What do you think you'll miss the most? Those last-minute goals, I love those last-minute goals, I must tell you, I love them. Only when they went for you. Yeah, well, we did lose a few, but that's part of the history anyway, I always say that when we lost a league to Manchester City last week, who suffered the most? Man City fans suffered the most, our fans are used to it, so it's just another day in the history of Manchester United. What are you going to do to fill this enormous void? What are you going to do with your time now? I've got a lot of things to do, yeah I have, I've got a lot of projects in view and Jason, my son, has been organising a lot of things and I'll be very busy and I've got my ambassadorial role with the club, the directorship, I've got a lot of things I'm going to do, believe me. A bit of piano? I won't be sitting still. A bit of piano, a bit of French? Well, yeah, it's a good idea that, I mean, my French is not so bad, my piano playing is not very good, I definitely need a tutor, but whether I ever get time for that, I don't know. Okay, in a break with tradition, if you'll let me have the last word this time and say, Alex, well done. Well done, thank you. I was supposed to have the last word.