Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson showed incredible trust in two influential figures by “never” interfering in their work at Old Trafford.
That is according to Manchester United legend Gary Neville, who opened up about the impact that Sir Alex Ferguson had during his time at Old Trafford.
Ferguson is widely considered one of, if not, the best managers of all time after his impact in Scotland with Aberdeen and in England with United.
The 82-year-old Scotsman bowed out of Old Trafford for the final time as a manager in 2013 after leading United to their last Premier League title win.
Ferguson lifted a whopping 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, five FA Cups and four League Cups during his legendary run with United.
The iconic Scot was also the first manager in history to lead an English team to a continental treble after United famously completed the feat in the 1998-99 season.
United have struggled to retain their dominance in English football after former Red Devils boss Ferguson made his exit from the Old Trafford dugout.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has since taken a page from Ferguson’s playbook and the United co-owner has vowed to knock Manchester City and Liverpool off their perch.
Neville on Ferguson’s respect for two figures
Sir Alex Ferguson endured a tough start to life at Manchester United after he left Aberdeen in 1986 and replaced former manager Ron Atkinson at Old Trafford.
The United legend weathered the storm in his early reign at the Red Devils before enjoying incredible trophy-laden success in the 1990s.
Brian Kidd played a key role as a coach for young United players in the youth academy before he was elevated to the assistant manager role under Ferguson.
The 75-year-old former Red Devils player was Ferguson’s right-hand man during the 1990s and was widely praised for his work at United.
Former United boss Ferguson was dealt a major blow in 1998 after Brian Kidd left Old Trafford and took charge of Blackburn Rovers as manager.
Ferguson waited until 1999 to replace Kidd with Steve McClaren, who is currently part of the coaching staff at United under Erik ten Hag.
Steve McClaren made a lasting impact as Ferguson’s former right-hand man and perfectly filled the void left behind by Kidd.
Gary Neville revealed that Ferguson allowed McClaren and Kidd to lead their sessions on the training pitch every time without any “interference” from him.
“He trusted the people who worked under him, so his assistant coach would deliver all the training sessions, his medical team would deliver all [their work],” he told the UTD Podcast, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“He never interfered in anything that they did, did he? You never saw him in the medical room, in the gym.
“On the training pitch, he allowed Steve McClaren or Kiddo [Brian Kidd] to deliver every session without interference.
“Now, you imagine two things: one, about the trust that builds in your team, which is very rare.
“But secondly, when he actually spoke on matchday and he came alive, his words meant a lot.
“So, these words were quite rare, in terms of inspirational words. I thought that was quite important.
“Some managers, they’re on the pitch every day and they’re coaching every day. And the only voice they [the players] hear is his. But he [Sir Alex] trusts his team completely.”
Neville on Ferguson’s consistency at Man Utd
Neville, who spent his entire playing career under Ferguson, admitted that the former United boss remained consistent with his message at Old Trafford.
“He wasn’t up here and down there [in terms of his demands and emotions],” he said.
“[There were] things that he said just regularly about work ethic, trusting each other, risk, you know, the tempo of your passing. Things that I remember.
“It was consistency over the 15 years of listening to his team talk.”
