FORGET the Carling Cup and the Premier League title race. The one thing driving on Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United is the thought of repeating the Champions League success the club enjoyed in their treble-winning season of 1999.

That's the view of Blackburn boss Mark Hughes, who took time out from his busy schedule earlier this week to help Sir Alex celebrate his 20th anniversary as United's manager.

Ferguson was rightly feted on Monday by his fellow managers, past and present, after two decades of remarkable success at Old Trafford.

In 20 years at the top with United, Fergie has won a phenomenal 19 trophies - a record Hughes believes will never be beaten.

However, the tough-talking Scot shows no signs of retiring just yet as he prepares to embark on his third decade in the hot-seat.

And Hughes insists his former mentor won't consider disappearing into the sunset until he has won the Champions League for a second time, a feat that would cement his place among true managerial greats like Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

The Rovers boss, who is widely tipped to succeed Ferguson when he eventually calls time on his United career, said of the unenviable job of replacing him: "I don't think that's something anyone needs to worry about for a number of years yet!

"If you look at him now, he's still got that glint in his eye. He's building another team and he's got young players coming through, and he really enjoys that part of it - seeing young players achieving their potential.

"He's built teams before, as well as dismantling them, and that's the part of the job he really loves.

"I think he still hankers after another Champions League. That's what is probably driving him on now.

"Along with bringing on the younger players he has, lifting the Champions League would be something that might get him asking does he want to do it any longer?' "But right now, he's still got that drive, he's still got that ambition. You can see it in his eyes."

While Ferguson may have enjoyed unparalleled success as a Premiership manager, his record in Europe is rather more disappointing, given the level of resources he has had at his disposal.

In the 14 years since the Champions League's inaugural season in 1992, United have won the competition only once, in 1999, and they have reached the semi-finals on just two occasions, in 1996/97 and 2001/02.

Ferguson, therefore, still has unfulfilled ambitions where Europe is concerned, which is why he's reluctant to slip into the shadows, despite the fact he officially hits retirement age on New Year's Eve.

"The Champions League is the main focus of the club," said Hughes, whose side faces United in the Premiership this Saturday.

"It has to be because it's the biggest club competition, and Manchester United, because of where they stand in the game, have to be competing for the Champions League every year in the latter stages.

"Sir Alex will feel he wants another crack at it every time they go out.

"When you're at United, you are always made very aware of how important it is to maintain the standing of Manchester United and everything the club represents.

"They've always had a great history of European football, that's a big part of their past history, and it's had a huge impact on the club as a whole, what with Munich and everything else.

"That's a big part of the fabric of the club."

As for Fergie's tenure at Old Trafford, Hughes has the utmost respect for what his old boss has achieved with United over the last 20 years.

In an era when the average shelf-life of a Premier League manager is 20 months, Ferguson's reign in charge of England's biggest club is unprecedented, and may never be beaten.

"Sir Alex's record and achievement in staying at the level he has done for so long is something I don't think will ever be matched," said Hughes, who clocked up 462 appearances for the Reds in two separate spells.

"I've worked at this level for two and a bit years now and I know how hard the job is.

"For him to stay at the top for as long as he has, shows him great credit.

"What made him special for me was the standards he set.

"He wouldn't let you drop from the level he expected of you as a player and a person.

"Every day you were made aware of your responsibilities to yourself, your team-mates, and the football club.

"I don't think many of the players had a really close relationship with him. We had working relationships with him.

"Some had stronger ties with him than others, but he had exactly the right standing at the club.

"You knew exactly who was the boss at the club, and what he says goes.

"If he told you to jump, you jumped."

Ferguson was a ferocious individual when Hughes was plying his trade with United. In fact, it was the Rovers boss who coined the phrase hairdryer treatment' to describe a Ferguson rant.

But has time mellowed the United boss, or does he remain as fearsome as ever?

"He's possibly a bit more mellow these days," added Hughes.

"Obviously, I've not been around the club for a number of years but my understanding is he has delegated more responsibility to the people he trusts, whereas before, certainly in those initial days, his focus was on knowing exactly everybody's job and everybody's responsibilities, and keeping everyone on their toes.

"I think he's since shied away from that because Manchester United has become such a big operation."