Paul Ince has claimed Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson tried to persuade players to skip England duty.

Former United and England midfielder Ince, now with Wolves, claimed Ferguson would act if the club had a big match coming up and his stance seems set to anger coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Ince, however, said he never turned down the chance of playing for his country.

Speaking on BBC Five Live's programme, The Real Alex Ferguson, Ince said: "I think he has said sometimes to players: 'I don't want you going to England because we have a big game the week afterwards'."

Former Old Trafford winger Lee Sharpe claimed Ferguson told him to fake injury, so he could rest up rather than join the international set-up.

"I have not gone to under-21 trips because he's said I've got a calf strain, a hamstring strain and I am not going.

"Because it was a long trip, maybe a friendly, we've had a big game on the Saturday and we've got a big game the Saturday after, so he's asked me to stay home and stay fresh."

Sharpe said he can now understand Ferguson's reasoning.

"I think he is well within his rights to do that. The club pay the players a hell of a lot of money these days," he said.

United captain Roy Keane, who recently retired from international football with the Republic of Ireland after consulting with Ferguson and medical staff at the club, has revealed he has taken the first tentative steps towards becoming a coach.

But the 31-year-old Manchester United midfielder is keen to stress he wants to play for at least another three years.

Keane says he has spoken to Steve McClaren - now Middlesbrough's manager after a spell as assistant at Old Trafford - about the coaching road he needs to take.

"Being 32 in August you start to think of these things," said Keane. "If you had asked me two years ago about management, I would have told you it wasn't even on my mind.

"Now as I have got a bit older, I have spoken to Steve McClaren and one or two other people and started to think along those lines about getting my coaching badges and being a manager some day."

Reports suggest Italian club Inter Milan will attempt to lure Ryan Giggs away from United at the end of the season.