Alex Ferguson will be the "key man" in advising Manchester United on who should be appointed as his successor when the club's manager eventually decides to retire.
Ferguson will have served 24 years in the job come November in a reign of unprecedented success that has seen him win 34 trophies -- including 11 league titles and two European Cups.
Chief executive David Gill said: "Alex is on a rolling (one-year) contract. He is doing well, he is happy and he has a good staff who he works very closely with. He delegates well. So while he continues to have that health and support he will continue.
"When he decides he wants to retire he will have a word with me and say, 'The end of this season or next season'. We would work with him in terms of identifying a replacement. In terms of criteria we will sit down and say, 'What attributes must a manager have?'
"Lots of things come into that. British or European? What experience they have; languages, all that sort of thing as well as their track record.
"The final decision won't be (one person saying), 'Right, we are having him'. It will be discussed with Alex, Bobby Charlton and the owners. I think Alex will be the key. He knows people.
"He will have a big role in advising and being a sounding board. I am sure we will talk with the owners and look at who is there and determine who we would like to appoint.
"It would be remiss of us not to use the expertise and knowledge that we have (in the club).
"Alex has been very successful and another thing you have to understand is the culture of Manchester United. How we operate both on the football side and the non-football side -- all that will have to be thought through (in relation to his successor)."
Gill described the potential list of likely candidates as "a small pool" of managers.
Asked directly whether Jose Mourinho, expected to be appointed officially as Real Madrid manager next week, would be on that list, Gill replied: "He's done well, hasn't he?"
When the United chief executive was then asked whether he would regard working with Mourinho as a rewarding experience or one that was likely to involve a great deal of stress, he said: "I'm not going to comment on that. He has certainly got something about him. He's a winner."
Gill said that he follows the progress of managers all across Europe and cited the example ofSteve McClaren as one coach who had demonstrated it was possible to rebuild a reputation.
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