Sir Alex Ferguson usually got his own way at Manchester United, but one thing he wasn’t able to control was international duty for his players.
During the Sir Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United, the legendary Scottish boss wasn’t afraid to make his feelings clear.
This reared its head in many ways; one was his distaste for international football.
Now, Paul Scholes has opened up on this, explaining that one player was immune to the criticism.
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Paul Scholes reveals how Sir Alex Ferguson felt about Brian McClair
Speaking on the latest episode of The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Scholes shared that Scottish players got a different reaction from Ferguson ahead of international duty.
“He hated us going away for international duty. He didn’t like it. Everything was about his club and making sure his players were ready.
“Unless you were Scottish, Brian McClair was alright.”
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This, of course, is because of Ferguson being a proud Scotsman, supporting his national team to this day, and is certain to be heading to the World Cup to watch the Tartan Army in the USA this summer.
Ferguson also took charge of the Scottish national side for 10 games during 1985–1986 after Jock Stein passed away, successfully guiding his country to the 1986 World Cup after winning a play-off.
So it makes complete sense that he would have a vested interest in his players heading on international duty with Scotland.
McClair joined United in 1987, staying until 1998. McClair left the summer before the treble, surely wishing he had had one last year.
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Sir Alex Ferguson famously had issues with Roy Keane and Ireland
Scholes wasn’t the only former United player who thought Ferguson wasn’t keen on international football, as Roy Keane held similar views.
Keane was quoted by The Guardian in 2014 as claiming Ferguson wasn’t a big fan of him heading on international duty with Ireland.
“I was constantly under pressure from Ferguson [not to play for Ireland],” he said. “He would say: ‘I don’t want you playing in those games’. He didn’t speak to me when I came back after one qualifier. There was all that nonsense going on.
“I guess it was a bit of a compliment because he wanted me available for United. Maybe if I was Scottish, he might have been a bit more relaxed about it, because I know other lads would play for their country and he’d say: ‘Yeah, you go for it.’ He certainly didn’t wave me off saying, ‘All the best for Ireland’; far from it. Yet he’s in Dublin, probably preaching to everybody.”
The most public of these was in 1998, ahead of the World Cup, when Ireland didn’t have Keane for a play-off against Iran. With a knee injury that was contentious between Mick McCarthy and Ferguson.
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