Sir Alex Ferguson asked one Manchester United legend to play in a reserve match and the Scotsman was snubbed on his request due to the former player’s “pride.”
The 82-year-old Scotsman had a legendary run at Old Trafford as a manager, with Sir Alex Ferguson hoovering up the major silverware for Manchester United.
Iconic former United manager Ferguson, who arrived at the Red Devils in 1986, led the Premier League side to a famous continental treble in the 1998-99 season.
The legendary Scot lifted 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and four League Cups before he bowed out of Old Trafford in 2013.
Ferguson’s legendary United teams of the past featured larger-than-life personalities and characters, including the likes of Eric Cantona and Roy Keane.
However, the former Aberdeen and United boss ensured his leadership remained firm at Old Trafford and wasn’t afraid to axe players from the club if needed.
Ferguson’s request denied by Man Utd legend
Manchester United legends Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney were on the latest Stick to Football show alongside fellow club legend Andy Cole.
Andy Cole, who was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, had an incredibly successful spell at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 52-year-old former England striker was a key part of the 1999 treble-winning team and forged a formidable partnership alongside United legend Dwight Yorke.
Cole recalled his time at Old Trafford and how former United manager Ferguson once asked him to play in a reserve match.
However, the United legend refused and Ferguson ‘put him upstairs’ at Highbury – Arsenal’s former stadium – to watch the match.
Cole had the “fire burning even more” after the incident and was “cheesed” off at the idea of being a sub, saying it was all about his mentality.
“I wasn’t a sub kind of guy,” he said on The Overlap.
“I remember one year, I fell out with the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] – he asked me to play in a reserve game and I said that I’m not playing.
“I think I was coming back from injury or something, but I said that I wasn’t playing.
“He said, ‘Okay, no problem.’ We went down to Highbury, and he put me upstairs to watch the game and we lost 3-0.
“The week after that I got back involved and got myself back into the team. But it was that mentality, to be a sub at times, it cheesed me off and that got the fire burning even more. I look back now and realise that it was pride.”
Cole on his Man Utd exit
Cole, who arrived at United from Newcastle in 1995, made 275 appearances for the Red Devils and scored an impressive 121 times during his time under Ferguson.
The United legend left Old Trafford in 2001 after falling down the pecking order at the Red Devils, with Cole going on to sign for Blackburn Rovers for an £8m fee.
Cole admitted that he could have stayed at United longer, but he felt that his pride made sure that he wanted to play more first-team football.
“If I look back on my career now, the things I did then, that’s what I did,” he said.
“I look back now and think, could I have changed that a little bit? No, because would I have been the player I was.
“The only thing I’d turn around and say, I left United when I had the opportunity to stay but that was me just saying, my pride says I need to go and play football, play as many games as possible.”
