Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reveals the methods and mentality that saw him win 28 major trophies in 26 years in charge.
The Old Trafford legend allowed professors from Harvard Business School to carry out a case study on his methods during his last season and explains what made him a winner.
In a wide-ranging interview published in full in the Harvard Business Review, Sir Alex explained that his first move upon joining the Red Devils was to establish his famed focus on youth.
"From the moment I got to Manchester United, I thought of only one thing: building a football club. I wanted to build right from the bottom," he began.
"I knew that a focus on youth would fit the club's history and my earlier coaching experience told me that winning with young players could be done and that I was good at working with them. So I had the confidence and conviction that, if United was going to mean anything again, rebuilding the youth structure was crucial. You could say it was brave but fortune favours the brave.
"At some clubs, you need only to lose three games in a row and you're fired. In today's football world, with a new breed of directors and owners, I am not sure any club would have the patience to wait for a manager to build a team over a four-year period.
"Winning a game is only a short-term gain - you can lose the next game. Building a club brings stability and consistency.
"Although I was always trying to disprove it, I believe that the cycle of a successful team lasts maybe four years and then some change is needed. So we tried to visualise the team three or four years ahead and make decisions accordingly.
"Because I was at United for such a long time, I could afford to plan ahead - no one expected me to go anywhere. I was very fortunate in that respect.
"Everything we did was about maintaining the standards we had set as a football club - this applied to all my team building and all my team preparation, motivational talks, and tactical talks.
"I had to lift players' expectations. They should never give in. I said that to them all the time: 'If you give in once, you'll give in twice.' And the work ethic and energy I had seemed to spread throughout the club.
"Superstars with egos are not the problem some people may think. They need to be winners because that massages their egos, so they will do what it takes to win. I used to see [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [David] Beckham, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes and others out there practicing for hours.
"If the day came that the manager of Manchester United was controlled by the players - in other words, if the players decided how the training should be, what days they should have off, what the discipline should be and what the tactics should be - then Manchester United would not be the
Manchester United we know.
"Before I came to United, I told myself I wasn't going to allow anyone to be stronger than I was. Your personality has to be bigger than theirs. That is vital.
(Goal.com)
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayThe Old Trafford legend allowed professors from Harvard Business School to carry out a case study on his methods during his last season and explains what made him a winner.
In a wide-ranging interview published in full in the Harvard Business Review, Sir Alex explained that his first move upon joining the Red Devils was to establish his famed focus on youth.
"From the moment I got to Manchester United, I thought of only one thing: building a football club. I wanted to build right from the bottom," he began.
"I knew that a focus on youth would fit the club's history and my earlier coaching experience told me that winning with young players could be done and that I was good at working with them. So I had the confidence and conviction that, if United was going to mean anything again, rebuilding the youth structure was crucial. You could say it was brave but fortune favours the brave.
"At some clubs, you need only to lose three games in a row and you're fired. In today's football world, with a new breed of directors and owners, I am not sure any club would have the patience to wait for a manager to build a team over a four-year period.
"Winning a game is only a short-term gain - you can lose the next game. Building a club brings stability and consistency.
"Although I was always trying to disprove it, I believe that the cycle of a successful team lasts maybe four years and then some change is needed. So we tried to visualise the team three or four years ahead and make decisions accordingly.
"Because I was at United for such a long time, I could afford to plan ahead - no one expected me to go anywhere. I was very fortunate in that respect.
"Everything we did was about maintaining the standards we had set as a football club - this applied to all my team building and all my team preparation, motivational talks, and tactical talks.
"I had to lift players' expectations. They should never give in. I said that to them all the time: 'If you give in once, you'll give in twice.' And the work ethic and energy I had seemed to spread throughout the club.
"Superstars with egos are not the problem some people may think. They need to be winners because that massages their egos, so they will do what it takes to win. I used to see [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [David] Beckham, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes and others out there practicing for hours.
"If the day came that the manager of Manchester United was controlled by the players - in other words, if the players decided how the training should be, what days they should have off, what the discipline should be and what the tactics should be - then Manchester United would not be the
Manchester United we know.
"Before I came to United, I told myself I wasn't going to allow anyone to be stronger than I was. Your personality has to be bigger than theirs. That is vital.
(Goal.com)
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