Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he turned down the England manager's job on two separate occasions during his Manchester United reign.

The Scot states in his autobiography, which is released on Thursday, that he was asked to become England boss in succession to Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan.

Ferguson rejected the offers out of hand, though, saying: "There was no way I could contemplate that. It wasn't a bed of nails I was ever tempted to lie on."

The fact that he was offered the England job on two occasions will raise eyebrows in some quarters, although there will be little surprise that, as a proud Scot, he rejected the approaches.

Ferguson, who managed United for 27 successful years before retiring in the summer of 2013, discusses a wide range of topics in the book, called 'My Autobiography'.

The Scot reflects on his rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal and discusses his relationship with a number of players that have come and gone through the doors at Old Trafford since he arrived from Scotland in 1986.

Former United captain Roy Keane comes in for criticism in the book, which follows on from his last autobiography spanning from 2000-2013.

Keane became one of the trusted pillars of Ferguson's reign at Old Trafford when he moved from Nottingham Forest in 1993, but their relationship soured 12 years later.

Ferguson reveals that Keane was livid at the club over their pre-season training camp in Portugal. The Irish midfielder said the accommodation was not up to scratch.

Then Keane tore into his team-mates in an interview with the club's in-house TV station MUTV.

Ferguson says in the interview, which was pulled, Keane "slaughtered" several of the club's senior players.

Keane then suggested the squad watch the interview and a furious row ensued. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Edwin van der Sar and Carlos Queiroz all argued and Keane then accused Ferguson of bringing his own dispute with shareholder John Magnier over the Rock of Gibraltar racehorse into the club.

"It was frightening to watch. And I'm from Glasgow," Ferguson says.

"He has the most savage tongue you can imagine."

Ferguson sold Keane to Celtic. The Irishman returned to Carrington to apologise to Ferguson months later, but the two have clashed since.