Sir Alex Ferguson names his managerial idol before Manchester United spell

22.03.2022 - 01:49 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson outlined his footballing inspiration during a Q&A session this week.

Speaking at an event hosted by club sponsor KOHLER recently, the 13-time Premier League winner named fellow Scottish managerial legend Jock Stein as his one of his greatest influences in the game. The 80-year-old worked as Stein's assistant during his Aberdeen days and the pair struck up a fantastic relationship.

Ferguson stated Stein had made a deep impact on him during their time together, explaining how he used one his traits when he became a manager himself. “One of the people I’d say (as an inspiration) is the manager I worked for up in Scotland — who died at a game — Jock Stein. He was fantastic in terms of intelligence, the small things that you picked up on,” he said.

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“He would never eat a restaurant unless he could see everybody. He positioned his chair so he could see everybody in the restaurant — I started doing that. He was a good inspiration.”

Former Scotland manager Stein tragically passed away in 1985 after suffering a heart attack during his nation’s World Cup play-off match with Wales at Ninian Park. During his career he had guided Celtic’s famous Lisbon Lions to the 1967 European Cup.

Ferguson went on to lift two of his own during his 26-year stay at United. He also referenced his former school teacher Elizabeth Thompson as a “fantastic inspiration.”

Prior to his comments on Stein’s restaurant preference, Sir Alex also revealed in the talk how he made planners change training ground proposals when Carrington was being built in 2000 due to his displeasure over dining arrangements. He said: “I was