PEP Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are the only two candidates to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson when he eventually retires as manager of Manchester United, according to a report.According to sources, the Scot will have a big influence in choosing his successor and that discussions about the succession have already begun with United chief executive David Gill and the club’s owners the Glazer family. But while any decision would have to be ratified by Gill and the Glazers it is clear that Sir Alex’s recommendation will carry a huge amount of weight.Sir Alex was spotted in conversation with former Barcelona boss Guardiola during a trip to New York earlier this month. The Spaniard left Barcelona at the end of last season with the intention of taking at least a year out of the game and this is a decision he has stuck to despite being approached by Chelsea during the summer.Guardiola is very much a hands-on manager and the set-up at United, where the manager looks after pretty much the whole of the footballing side of the club, would suit him more than a situation where the owner buys the players and the manager is effectively no more than a coach, as happens at Chelsea.But Guardiola is not looking for a quick return. He moved to New York during the summer having initially rejected the idea of a lengthy sojourn in London as it would only be used as the basis for speculation over the Chelsea job. However, he could be in the jobs market in 2013 and that would mean Sir Alex could be spending his last season at Old Trafford if United choose to go for Pep.Agencies