Ferguson said: "It was a great opportunity in life to relegate them! There was no way I could have taken that.
"The first time was the Scots lad from the Post Office. Adam Crozier. The second time they approached Martin Edwards and I said forget it, I'm not interested.
"I met Adam Crozier at Old Trafford and he made the offer for me to manage the team. It didn't take me long - 10 seconds. There was no way I could manage England. Think of me going back to Scotland! Deary me."
When asked in his book launch press conference about the job he said: "There was no way in a million years I could have managed England."