Former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson took a “pretty serious” position on one major decision at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out of Old Trafford in 2013 as Manchester United manager after the legendary Scot’s remarkable 26-year reign at the Premier League club.
The 83-year-old iconic Scotsman led the Red Devils to all 13 of their Premier League titles and Ferguson also secured United’s iconic treble win in the 1998-99 season.
United legend Ferguson had a long-lasting impact on English – and world – football and is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time.
The Red Devils have struggled in the aftermath of Ferguson’s retirement from United, with the club’s last league triumph coming in the 2012-13 season.
Mike Phelan was Ferguson’s right-hand man for United’s last Premier League title win in 2013, but he wasn’t retained by David Moyes for the following season.
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Mike Phelan, Sir Alex Ferguson and Rene Meulensteen of Manchester United watch from the bench during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on May 1, 2011, in London, England.
Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Mike Phelan reveals Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘heavy-handed’ Man Utd approach that Ruben Amorim could benefit from
Sir Alex Ferguson was an influential figure both in the Old Trafford dugout and behind the scenes with the Premier League club’s transfer activity.
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The legendary former Red Devils manager shared a close relationship with former United chief executive officer David Gill during their time together at the club.
David Gill, who played a key role in United’s transfer business in the past, left the Red Devils at the end of the 2012-13 Premier League season alongside Ferguson.
Mike Phelan has now admitted that Ferguson would waste no time telling Gill the players that he would keep at United and the ones that needed to be offloaded.
Speaking to The Straits Times, he said: “By now [June time], Sir Alex’s list of players that he wanted to keep and let go would have been presented to the chief executive.
“He was pretty cut-throat when it came to that.
“So, the planning would be pretty serious, it would be heavy-handed. It would be a very clean-cut, lots of clarity and it would be ruthless.”
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Ruben Amorim should be equally as ‘ruthless’ with Man Utd players as Sir Alex Ferguson was at Old Trafford
Ineos have taken control of football operations at Old Trafford after Sir Jim Ratcliffe became United co-owner in 2023 and now handle the transfer activity at the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s team is expected to back Ruben Amorim heavily in the summer transfer window, despite the limited funds that are currently available to United.
Amorim inherited his United first-team squad from former Ajax and Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag last November after his arrival at Old Trafford from Sporting CP.
The 40-year-old United manager should stamp his authority in the same way as Ferguson did, especially as part of his long-term project for the Red Devils.
Amorim found success with Sporting CP and he should be clear about the players he wants to retain and the ones that need to be offloaded from United each summer.