‘I was on the end of Fergie’s hairdryer after a friendly – it was an education’

Posted on : 03/05/2023
‘I was on the end of Fergie’s hairdryer after a friendly – it was an education’
Soccer 
  • Bookmark

    • For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter

    We have more newsletters

    Legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was not afraid to let the hairdryer loose – even after a pre-season friendly.

    The infamous shouting treatment was given to many Red Devils players during the Scot's time in charge at Old Trafford with just a select few avoiding Fergie's anger.

    Generally, Ferguson saved the hairdryer for the moments that mattered. Big games and painful losses saw the ex-United boss, who departed in 2013, let his players know exactly what he was feeling.

    READ MORE: 'Sir Alex Ferguson didn't like agents – so I got Gary Neville to negotiate my contract'

    Though Fergie also turned the power up full in pre-season as he prepared his troops for another tilt at Premier League and European success.

    "The one I clearly remember, we played Stoke away in a friendly," former Old Trafford youth prospect Daniel Nardiello explained to Daily Star Sport.

    "I was injured for two weeks prior and hadn't had a training session. But we were short on players and I had to be on the bench for the first team.

    How would you have reacted to Fergie's hairdryer? Let us know in the comments section below

    "I came on and I could barely run, I was unfit, really unfit, I'd missed the beginning of pre-season and was super unfit.

    "After the game he just went mental at me because I wasn't fit enough. I just remember him screaming at me and telling me I need to do a lot more to make it at the club.

    "He had a quiet word with me afterwards, it was always an education. I can't remember the score, but there were plenty of people who got the hairdryer treatment. I saw many a time he lost the plot in the changing room, which was always interesting."

    Fergie's tactics seemed to work as he guided United to 13 Premier League titles with the Scot widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time.

    And Nardiello recalled one moment following defeat to rivals Manchester City where the dressing room was an awkward place to be.

    He added: "I remember being in the changing room after that game, Fergie was going mad at certain players, Gary Neville was one of them.

    "But I was just sitting in the corner, I was 17 or 18, in my shell, trying to hide away.

    "It was a bit of an eye-opener seeing that because there were players there with Fergie going mad at the performance and score, it was something I'd never forget."

    READ NEXT:

    • ‘I hid in the corner as Gary Neville received the hairdryer from Sir Alex Ferguson’
    • 'I used to go out until 6am before Man Utd training – but Sir Alex knew everything'
    • ‘My sister answered phone call from Fergie but couldn’t understand a word he said’
    • Manchester United FC
    • Sir Alex Ferguson
    • Exclusives

    Source: Read Full Article