Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would send the same clear-cut message to all of his players after every match they won.
That is according to Manchester United legend Gary Neville, who opened up on what it was like to play under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
Ferguson is widely considered one of the best managers of all time after his remarkable impact in England with United and in Scotland with Aberdeen.
The 82-year-old oversaw incredible success during his incredible reign at Old Trafford, including lifting 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.
Ferguson was known for his hard-line stance at United and the iconic Scotsman wasn’t afraid to put players on blast if they performed poorly on the pitch.
The legendary Scot ensured his leadership at United remained unquestioned and Ferguson wasn’t afraid to cut players from his squad if they stepped out of line.
Ferguson bowed out of football management in 2013 after he led United to their last Premier League title at the end of the 2012-13 Premier League season.
Neville on Ferguson’s message
Gary Neville appeared on the Stick to Football show alongside former Manchester United teammate Roy Keane, as well as Arsenal legend Ian Wright and Jill Scott.
The 49-year-old United legend spent his entire club playing career under Sir Alex Ferguson after emerging as one of the famed ‘Class of ‘92’ members in the 1990s.
Neville has previously spoken about his time under Ferguson and how he established himself as a key locker-room figure towards the end of his United career.
Speaking on The Overlap show, Neville revealed that Ferguson wasn’t the type of manager who would “lavish praise” on a player in the aftermath of a match.
The former England and United defender claimed that Ferguson would repeat the same message after a win, irrespective of one standout performer in the match.
“The boss’ words were, ‘Well done, son,’ at the end of a game,” Neville said.
“If you won, well done, son. That was it. There’s no other sort of… I never saw him sort of really lavish praise on anybody in the dressing room at the end of the match. ‘You were amazing today’ or ‘you were brilliant’ – there was never that.”
Keane on Ferguson in Man Utd training
Keane spent his entire legendary United playing spell under Ferguson before the Scotsman axed him from the club in 2005 amid a rift in their relationship.
The 52-year-old former United captain echoed Neville’s sentiments about Ferguson and how the Aberdeen legend was straight to the point with his praise in training.
“Like Alex Ferguson used to always say… the two important words he used to say, the players on the training pitch is ‘well done,’” Keane said.
“It was ‘well done.’ But not where it doesn’t mean anything at the end.”
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