Sacking the catalyst to magnificent career

Despite his successes as a racehorse owner, Sir Alex Ferguson has not always displayed an infallible touch when it comes to spotting young two-legged thoroughbreds. "One of the lads I used to ferry back and forth between East Kilbride where we both lived and Love Street was a small, skilful midfielder who I doubted would grow sufficiently to make the grade at St Mirren. And you can take it as read that Alistair McCoist [ex-Rangers and Scotland] never tires of reminding me of my lack of judgement in that particular matter."

"Fergie's Furies", as the headline writers were wont to describe St Mirren, became the most exciting team in the land and the pride of all Paisley. When he arrived at Love Street the average attendance had been 1,908 - leading him to drive round the streets of the town with head stuck through the sunroof and megaphone at his mouth exhorting passing Buddies to support their local heroes - which had risen to 11,230 by the time of his departure to Aberdeen in 1978.

He also left behind him the first signs of what would gain renown as his famous "hair-dryer" temper after a group of players had been spotted drinking in the Waterloo bar in Glasgow's city centre the night before a league game against Partick Thistle at Love Street. "Aye, I was furious all right, even though we'd won one-nil." According to legend, as Fergie's ire reached its volcanic climax he hurled a bottle of cola off the wall over the culprits' heads.

So petrified were the players that not one them blinked as the shards of glass and fizzy pop dropped on to their strips from above. Recalling the incident in his autobiography, Managing My Life, Fergie explained: "I made them sign an agreement they'd never enter the dreaded Waterloo again because I was determined to end the drinking culture that has always been a curse in British football." His stern belief that "boozing should have no place in the lifestyle of a professional sportsman" would be driven home to Paul McGrath, Norman Whiteside and the other members of the Old Trafford's "drinking culture club" in the cull to come. Curiously, however, whereas the St Mirren players survived their night on the tiles, Fergie was subsequently jettisoned by the club. Thirty years on, that sacking still rankles but, as chance would have it, Aberdeen approached him for a second time following Billy McNeill's departure for Celtic. Twelve months earlier in the summer of '77 Fergie had rejected a similar overture when Ally MacLeod left Pittodrie to embark upon his World Cup misadventures with Scotland.

"Just as East Stirlingshire can not be a St Mirren, so St Mirren can not be an Aberdeen and Aberdeen can not be a Manchester United. Had I recognised that fact when Aberdeen first spoke to me, then I would have saved myself a great deal of heartache." Unlike the task that had faced him at Love Street where he had been forced to assemble a team from unpolished jewels, Sir Alex inherited a Pittodrie squad bristling with international players and seasoned professionals.

"I felt a measure of apprehension at taking over from Billy. Aberdeen were a successful club, they'd just finished second to Rangers in the league and only a few weeks earlier had played in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden. On top of that, it was the first time I'd been employed as a full-time manager and it was the first time I'd be working with full-time footballers. What spurred me was the challenge of shaping their attitudes towards me as opposed to their attitudes towards Billy. That's when your character and determination comes into the equation. It would have been very easy just to go along with the players by simply keeping them laughing and smiling and agreeing to everything but, to me, that's the wrong way to go about things.

"The success I'd enjoyed at St Mirren also reinforced the belief that youth was the way forward. At Aberdeen the likes of Willie Miller, Alex McLeish, John McMaster and Doug Rougvie had all come through the ranks so all I did was strengthen the scouting system. Aberdeen was a great environment for any lad; it was a one team city, a great place to live for anyone with a young family, it was a close-knit community, and those were the selling points we stressed whenever we were trying to sign someone from the west of Scotland, say.

"What I had to create was a winning mentality. As great as Aberdeen is as a city, the club didn't have the kind of huge support that Rangers and Celtic enjoyed. The team were never forced over the line by the fans so maybe that's why I sometimes appeared to be on their backs; they needed a driving force and we couldn't expect the supporters to provide that. Whenever we went to Glasgow, I'd beseech them, 'Don't lose here. Don't dare lose in my city...' The message must have got through because they became as strong in character as they were in talent, which is why they were able to go anywhere in Europe and play in front of the most passionate crowds."

When Aberdeen became champions in 1980 (the first time the Old Firm duopoloy had been broken since Kilmarnock's victory in 1965) many a manager might have been satisfied, but, like Busby and Stein before him, Ferguson's ambitions lay far beyond these shores. "I used to go to the European games at Ibrox to see Nice, Standard Liege, Fiorentina and all the great teams of the time. Then in 1960 Eintracht Frankfurt came to Glasgow having won the first-leg 6-1 and proceeded to hammer Rangers 6-3. I remember thinking to myself, 'This German mob are gods...' Then they got slaughtered 7-3 by Real Madrid in the final at Hampden which put the kind of football we were used to watching into perspective. And that's what you have to try to aspire to."

Fergie conquered Europe on May 11, 1983 when Aberdeen beat Real Madrid 2-1 to win the Cup-Winners' Cup in Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadium but, as a manager, he felt he was still learning his trade. Enter Jock Stein, the Scotland coach on the prowl for an assistant. "I needed something extra as a manager and there was no one better qualified than Jock to provide that, so when he rang up I grabbed the chance. Jock had a bigger intelligence network - he certainly had far more spies - than the CIA and the KGB put together. He knew everything that was happening before it happened. He used to phone me on a Friday night and casually ask, 'So how are things going up in Aberdeen?' And by his tone of voice it was as though he was saying, 'You might as well tell me because I know anyway.' And I'd tell him the lot, I poured it out. 'Well, I've made a bid for Billy Stark at St Mirren because it looks as though wee Strachan will be leaving in the summer.' And Jock would reply, 'Good, good, I was going to advise exactly the same thing...'

"Like all great people, he was blessed with deep humility. I was young and eager to learn, so I'd quiz him about his various tactics in Europe. Jock, who'd out-thought everyone, was totally matter-of-fact. 'Ach,' he'd say, 'wee Jimmy was brilliant that night,' or, 'Murdoch was fabulous', never, ever a word about his own role in making the Lisbon Lions champions of Europe. He never took any credit and that was a great example to me. I think I drove him crazy with all my questions but he was incredibly generous with his knowledge. Jock could be serious but he could also be great fun and we'd often sit up until two in the morning in a Scotland team hotel where he'd regale me with one hilarious tale after another - invariably involving wee Jimmy Johnstone."

Among the lessons Fergie learned from the old master was not to turn down Manchester United if they ever came calling, as Stein had done in 1971 when after agreeing to succeed Sir Matt Busby, he was persuaded to remain in Scotland by his family, a decision he would regret for the rest of his days. And so after eight years with Aberdeen during which he had rejected job offers from Bareclona, Spurs, Arsenal and Rangers (twice) among others, on Nov 6 1986 Fergie flew south to keep his appointment with destiny.

So all these years on, is each day as much fun and mischief as he makes it appear? "Yes, I love each and every new morning. You've got to, otherwise you couldn't go on doing it. I've been very fortunate in all the things that have happened to me so coming in here as manager of Manchester United is a real pleasure; it's a great club - that goes without saying - and despite its size, there's still something of a family atmosphere about the place. I've got a lot of good people around me and do you know what, about three-quarters of the staff have been with me over 20 years now."

In the words of Denis Law: "To the Manchester United fans, Sir Alex is a god." A god who is proud to proclaim ahcumfraeguvin. @Email:sports@thenational.ae

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