Sir Alex Ferguson has always had a rocky relationship with the wives and girlfriends of his players.

During David Beckham’s time at Manchester United, the Scot was particularly contemptuous of the midfielder’s wife Victoria – or ‘that f****** girl’. He blamed the one-time Posh Spice for distracting her husband from his duties on the field.

But now the famously tough United manager has shown that he is mellowing – by giving his seal of approval to Wayne Rooney’s fiancee Coleen McLoughlin.

Sir Alex has described Coleen as 'clever and down-to-earth'

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday he describes Coleen, who is to marry the England striker next month, as a ‘clever girl who is down to earth – she’s good’.

And he confirms his contempt for the Beckham celebrity circus by describing Rooney as ‘different class’, adding significantly: ‘He doesn’t court publicity.’

Sir Alex, 66, also reveals that he is about to call time on his 22-year reign at Old Trafford.

Only days after leading United to Champions League victory – beating Premier League rivals Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in Moscow – he says he intends to step down in the next three years.

Six years ago he announced his retirement, only to change his mind and sign a new contract. This time, however, he insists he means it.

His hesitation about giving up work may arise from memories of his father, a Glasgow dockyard worker who contracted cancer within a week of his retirement.

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The Bechams: Sir Alex used to blame Victoria for distracting David

‘The problem is the big fear of what do you do with yourself,’ he says. ‘There are too many cases of people who retire and end up in a box soon after because they have taken away the very thing that makes you alive, keeps you alive.

‘I remember when my dad reached his 65th birthday. The Fairfield shipyard gave him a big dinner up in Glasgow. There was 300 or 400 people with employers and employees there. It was a big night for Dad.

‘And the next week my mother phones and says your dad has gone for an X-ray because he has pains in his chest. It was cancer . . . just one week after his retirement.

'I know I would find it hard to give up managing Manchester United – that’s the point I’m making. That’s why I can’t do it – at the moment, anyway.’

Despite his warm words for Rooney and Coleen, Sir Alex’s affection for the couple does not extend to breaking his annual
holiday to attend their wedding in Italy on June 12.

Sir Alex went to the weddings of former Manchester United stars Phil Neville and Ruud van Nistelrooy but declined an invitation to the Beckham nuptials in 1999.

At least Sir Alex remains master of his own destiny. His vanquished Champions League opponent, Chelsea manager Avram Grant, was unceremoniously sacked last night.