Ferguson warns Guardiola "English football is not easy"

Legendary Manchester United head coach Alex Ferguson warned Pep Guardiola, who will take charge of Manchester City next football season, that "English football is not easy".

In an interview with Britain's Sky Sports, Ferguson, 74, said on Thursday that he believes the Catalan coach will "succeed" in England, but doubted that Pep will "ever replicate what he did at Barcelona because that was a high standard", reports Efe.

"Without question Pep has got a fantastic work ethic about him, he demands that from all of his training sessions," Ferguson, who is considered one of the best coaches in football history, said.

"Man City has made a real coup in getting him but Pep won't find it easy, English football is not easy. Every foreign coach that has come to England will tell you that. Arsene Wenger was talking about that a few months after coming and even Jose Mourinho was," Ferguson added.

Ferguson led Manchester United from 1986 to 2013, when he won 13 English Premier League (EPL) titles and two European Champions League titles, among others.

Manchester City announced on February 1 the hiring of Guardiola, current coach of Bayern Munich, to succeed Manuel Pellegrini from next season for three years.

Guardiola won 14 major titles in four seasons with Barcelona.