Sir Alex Ferguson vowed yesterday to carry on for “as long as I feel healthy enough” as the Manchester United manager labelled his 25 years in charge at Old Trafford as a fairytale.

Ferguson, who turns 70 in December, will mark the landmark occasion when Sunderland visit Old Trafford tomorrow.

Appointed on November 6 1986, the Scot is regarded as one of the best managers ever after steering United to 12 Premier League titles, two European Cups, five FA Cup successes and four League Cups.

There has been much speculation about when Ferguson will step down, but he gave no indication at a press conference in Manchester yesterday that he plans to retire anytime soon.

“I’ll continue for as long as I feel healthy enough to do the job,” said the United manager, who insisted his success was down to the ‘fantastic’ players he has managed over the years.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have some of the best players in the game.

“When I look back at these players I say to myself ‘how fortunate I am’. It’s quite incredible. You look at the list of players when I came at the very start – Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside.

“Then Brian McClair, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona... God, what a collection of players.

“They were fantastic players. And it’s hard to think I was in control of all those players for so long.

“The present era of players, they have different personalities and different cultures. It’s been a really fantastic spell for me.

“It’s something you don’t think is going to happen, it’s a bit of a fairytale to last so long.

“It’s such a varied time in management. Things change as the years go on. It’s a different way of managing than it was seven or eight years ago. It’s changed.”