Sir Alex Ferguson says players must plan ahead if they want to manage later in career

Sir Alex Ferguson does not think today's players are planning far enough ahead if they want to manage later in their football career.

Opportunities for British coaches to follow in the footsteps of the country's most successful manager appear to be dwindling, with 11 Premier League clubs employing foreign bosses and two of the British managers - Craig Shakespeare and Steve Agnew - who are currently only scheduled to be in charge until the end of the season.

And Ferguson thinks players must start planning earlier for their career off the field, although he acknowledged owners have become more demanding with so much at stake.

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"Today I think a lot of players don't make their mind up that they want to stay in the game until it's too late," Ferguson told ESPN FC. "In other words, they don't have a rounded preparation like I did.

"They maybe take their badges at 32, 33 and then they expect to be managers two or three years later.

"It's a serious result industry. You have to win games. And if you don't have the proper preparation like I did, and a lot of coaches did, you're going to suffer.

"It's a very, very difficult industry. And of course the other side, as opposed to when I started, was that you have different owners.

"They have owners from all over the world, with different ambitions - there's a lack of patience in that respect. But you really need to be prepared to stay in the game. That's the most important message I could give them all."

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