Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out taking charge of a Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Scotsman, 67, had been informally approached to coach a combined UK side for the Games, which will be held in London.

Ferguson, however, has no interest in staying in the game when he finally ends his spell as the manager of Manchester United.

"I won't turn to international management. When I've finished here, I think I deserve a rest. After here, I'm finished," he told Inside United.

It is still not certain there will even be a British team in the Games.

The team would comprise of players who normally represent the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland teams.

The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations fear that if they agreed to the team, they would eventually be forced to relinquish their independent national teams and form a United Kingdom side.

Britain last had a men's side in the 1956 Games and have never entered a women's team. They won the men's competitions in 1900, 1908 and 1912.