Ferguson named England's Manager of the Year

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson capped his final season in charge of the English Premier League champions by clinching the League Managers' Association Manager of the Year award for the fourth time on Monday.

The 71-year-old Scot's unparallelled success in British soccer ended on Sunday with a remarkable 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion.

"In a way I am glad it is all over now because it has been hard work," Ferguson told BBC. "It has been overwhelming.

"The club has been fantastic and congratulations to West Brom with the way they handled yesterday (Sunday).

"I think (West Brom manager) Steve Clarke should get an award because anyone who scores five against United deserves it."

The match against West Brom was Ferguson's 1500th in charge of the famed club.

He won 38 major trophies in more than 26 years at Old Trafford, capped by the team's 20th league title, a season after losing it to cross-town rivals ManchesterCity.

"There is no doubt that the LMA Annual Awards are perceived as the most accurate measure of a manager's ability because there are no better judges of your performance than your peers," LMA chairman Howard Wilkinson said.

"Finding words to adequately describe the monumental levels of achievement and the indelible legacy Sir Alex Ferguson leaves in the game, is nigh on impossible."

Ferguson will be succeeded at United by former Everton manager David Moyes on July 1.

Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters