Man Utd striker wants to become a manager

Owen is keen to make the Red Devils his last club, by impressing at Old Trafford this season.

He told the Sunday Mirror: “If you’d asked me about ­becoming a ­manager two years ago I’d have said no, or given myself a 20 per cent chance at best.

“Now there’s about an 80 per cent chance of me trying to give it a go.

“You progress naturally, in football. At 18, 19, you may say to yourself, ‘He’s a good ­manager’ or ‘that’s a good ­session’. But generally, you do your job, play your game and don’t think too much of it.

“As you get older you ­analyse things a bit more.

“I decided to take my ­coaching badges at Newcastle. I was 27, 28, injured, sitting in the stand watching games.

“That’s when you start ­forming an opinion on what players do, which formations work. Because you are not thinking about how you are going to prepare for a game, you start dissecting the ­manager’s team talks.

“You see what is relevant. You’re looking at what ­everybody does. You see what creates a better environment, what helps tactically. You see how a manager’s strategies are implemented. You look at ­football in a different way.”

Owen has admitted his delight to be working under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

“I am with the master,” he acknowledged. “What he has won, what he has done over 20 years, he has to be the best.

“He talks to us as men. ­Others could say the same, but ­because it comes from him it means so much more.

“Everyone is intrigued as to what he’s is like. They want to know what makes him suc­cessful, what makes him tick, what makes him the best.

“The thing that stands out for me is his winning mentality. That transfers to his team, and his staff. Everything is geared to winning. If you don’t win it’s a darker place to be the next day.

“Sometimes, if something has been said outside the group, or if the chips are down, Sir Alex delivers the sort of motivational team talk that makes you really want to get out there.

“Other times he is more tactical. He varies things a lot, but everyone knows who is boss.

“As much as he has his finger on the pulse of every aspect of this club, he is fantastic at ­delegation, trusting his staff and players.

“No matter who you are, in whatever business, you’re only as good as the people who work for you. He gives those around him confidence.

“To have the responsibility of managing Manchester United is colossal. You have to dedicate your life to it, and he has certainly done that.

“He has his joys outside the game, horse racing and his family, but you can’t imagine him not getting up in the morning and coming to work.

“I’d love this to be my last club. You look at Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville and you like to think you have five more years in the game.

“I’m 30, and I don’t want to wish my ­career away.

“In an ideal world I’d like to play out my years here. I had great ­moments last season – a hat-trick in the Champions League and a goal in the Carling Cup Final, but the derby goal was fantastic.

“It was one of the biggest, most pure adrenaline rushes of my career. It’s alongside that Germany hat-trick, scoring twice in the FA Cup Final, and that goal in St Etienne.

“I was fit for 43 games. The pity is I missed the ones at the end when we were playing for things. The amount of injuries I have had is exaggerated.

“It can be annoying, but you learn to live with it.”