Manchester United's manager, Alex Ferguson (right), and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer talk during a training session at the club's Carrington training complex in Manchester, yesterday. Manchester United play Dynamo Kiev in Group F of the Champions League today. - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters):

ALEX FERGUSON celebrated 21 years in charge of Manchester United yes-terday, while the head of his union lamented that today's managers were not given the chances the Scot enjoyed in his early years at Old Trafford.

As Ferguson took the plaudits, Chris Hutchings began looking for work after he was sacked on Monday having had just six months and 13 games to make his mark on Wigan Athletic.

The contrast was not lost on Frank Clark, head of the League Managers' Association.

"It took him a while to turn it around at Manchester United and that's a lesson," he said of Ferguson. "I'm not sure you would get that length of time today, but it just proves the value of giving your manager a bit of time and help to turn things around.

"He's the ultimate example of patience and the ultimate role model for managers to aspire to."

Ferguson took over at Old Trafford from Ron Atkinson on November 6, 1986 and, could well have joined the list of short-lived bosses after struggling to make an impact.

His first game in charge was a defeat at Oxford United and his team struggled to become anything but also-rans in the league.

With the fans turning against him, Ferguson now says that his job was saved by Mark Robins' winner against Nottingham Forest in a 1990 FA Cup tie. United surged on to win the trophy that season, Ferguson's first for the club, and followed up with the Cup Winners' Cup a year later.

Landmark

From then on, the Scot could do no wrong, ending a 26-year wait for the championship in 1993 and reaching the pinnacle with the Champions League triumph and treble in 1999.

He planned to retire five years ago, but decided against it and he remains as passionate as ever about the game.

"Last year I thought 20 years was the landmark, and now I have added an extra year to that and I am proud to be at the right club," Ferguson told a news conference before today's Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev.

"Now they are taking odds on 25 years. It will be interesting to see if I last 25 years."