Last Updated: 25th May 2012
ALEX FERGUSON turned Manchester United into world beaters — on a diet of lemon sole, toast and honey.
Fergie's view
ALEX ON GIGGS...
RED DEVILS chief Fergie will never forget the first time Bobby Charlton clapped eyes on Ryan Giggs.
Giggs, 38, is the most decorated player in United’s history, making 538 league appearances.
Fergie recalls: “When we signed Ryan at 14, I told Bobby to come and see this kid because he was unbelievable.
“As Bobby was walking across to the training pitch, Ryan must have been on the ball 20 times.
“Bobby said ‘That must be him then’. He knew right away because Ryan stood out like a bull terrier chasing a bit of paper in the wind. His head was up and he was off the ground floating about the place.”
ALEX ON KIDS...
GAFFER Fergie will stick with his policy of investing in young players.
He said: “The first thing I did when I arrived at United was get a meeting with all the scouts. All we did was trial and trial and trial — bringing in boys from everywhere.
“We had to build a football club and we had to build it through young people. Bobby Charlton (left) was a great supporter.
“The most important thing is the care we give them.
“We do the educational thing, of course, but there’s also that development of character that they have to go through and getting them to understand that football is not an easy job. It’s a commitment.”
ALEX ON BURNOUT...
THE Old Trafford boss is worried about the demands placed on modern-day players.
Skipper Patrice Evra made 47 appearances for United this season, while Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones all played more than 40 games.
Ferguson said: “To ask a footballer to play 50 games in a season at 100 per cent is impossible.
“There has to be off days. On a given day, if eight players on your team are playing well you’ve a great chance of winning.”
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The legendary boss revealed that his success of the past 25 years started with a canteen revolution.
Ferguson masterminded United’s charge to become the most successful team in English football — lifting an incredible 37 trophies during his time in charge.
The 70-year-old outlined how he had to build United from the bottom up to achieve his dream of them being one of the world’s greatest clubs.
But Fergie admits changing the diet of his United squad after taking charge in 1986 left several players bemused.
He said: “When I started as a coach — and before they started talking about diets — I used to take my team at East Stirling for lunch.
“All I would give them was two slices of lemon sole, toast and honey. They used to go crazy. When I was a player, they used to give you fillet steaks and steak pie and things like that.
“So when I became a manager I said to myself ‘What they eat before a game is as important as what happens during the game’.
“I did that at Aberdeen and I did exactly the same at United.”
Ferguson laid bare the dramatic way the game has changed since starting his managerial career in 1974.
After his spell in Stirlingshire he moved on to St Mirren, Aberdeen and the Scotland national team.
Ferguson added: “Thanks to the advances in sports science and the expert nutritionists we have here at Carrington, I don’t need to worry about that side of things now.”
His incredible trophy haul at Manchester United since ’86 includes 12 Premier League titles, two Champions League wins and five FA Cups.
But United face the biggest challenge to their domestic supremacy in the form of neighbours City, who have splashed more thjan £1billion since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008.
City wrested the Premier League crown from United’s grasp thanks to Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp goal against QPR on the final day of the season.
But Ferguson is relishing the challenge of trying to take the trophy back from the big spenders down the road. And his methods are not about to change now.
Ferguson said: “If you look at the staff I’ve had here over 20-odd years, most of them have been with me throughout.
“People like Dave Bushell, Tony Whelan, Paul McGuinness, Jimmy Ryan, Les Kershaw, they’re all still here and part of the fabric of the club.
“So what you’ve got is experience of how to handle young people. Experience of what United really means, how to handle players coming to the club because in some cases it’s not always easy.”
Alex Ferguson was talking to the League Manager's Association and Barclays to celebrate 20 Season of the Premier League.
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