Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that the United job was too big for his successor David Moyes.
Ferguson, who won 38 trophies in a glittering 26-year managerial career at Old Trafford, has denied the common belief that he was solely responsible for Moyes’ appointment last year, which led to a disasterous season in charge, before he was replaced by Louis Van Gaal.
“He hadn’t realised just how big United is as a club,” he writes in his updated book “My Autobiography.”
He said Moyes went against United traditions by adopting a slower playing style that, in his day, would not have been tolerated.
“The reason for playing at speed was that United players had been accustomed to operating that way,” he added.
“If the tempo slowed for any reason, I would be into them at half-time. ‘This is not us,’ I would say. Playing with speed never hindered our results. It was our way: energy and determination in the last third of the pitch.”
“Maybe David felt that at such a massive club he had to be sure that all corners were covered in terms of his support system. I felt that network was already there, with plenty of great people already in important slots.”
Ferguson, who was made a club director on his retirement after nearly 27 years as manager, reveals that he was not part of the decision-making process when United sacked Moyes in April nor when Louis Van Gaal was appointed a month later.
“There appears to be an accepted view out there that there was no process. Nonsense. We feel we did everything the right way: quietly, thoroughly, professionally.”
Moyes has yet to find employment as a manager since being unceremoniously sacked by United in the summer.
United are next in Premier League actn this weekend, when they come up against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.
Steve Osborne @SteveOsborne23
