Read exclusive extracts of Sir Alex Ferguson's candid interview with Sir David Frost.
Sir Alex Ferguson spills the beans in exclusive interview
In his first full-length television interview in nearly 10 years, Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to Sir David Frost about that famous night in Moscow, his future at Old Trafford and his favourite Manchester United memories.
Seventy-two hours after winning the Champions League for the second time, Ferguson spoke candidly about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, his regret at failing to sign Paul Gascoigne, his mistake in allowing Jaap Stam to leave the club and his views on the state of modern football.
You can watch the full interview in a special hour-long programme on Tuesday evening on Sky Sports, but you can catch an exclusive taster of what is in store with extracts from the fascinating interview below.
Fergie on Moscow
Sir David Frost: Sir Alex - when you scored a hat-trick for Rangers, you said: "Now I believe in the supernatural". Did you believe in the supernatural again on that Wednesday night?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Well I certainly thought there was a bit of fate attached to it. There were so many things that coincided with things of the past - of course the fiftieth anniversary of Munich was certainly one. But you know, in my finals in the European games, three of them have been pouring with rain - and when the rain came down I said: "This is my day!" You know, I just had a feeling about it, you know? But when it went to penalty kicks and John Terry's walking up to do that penalty kick - I thought it was out the window.
Sir David Frost: Did you say anything in particular about changing tactics or anything at half time?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Not at half time. What I said at half time is we'd actually won the game in the first half - we have to win it again, because I thought we had dominated and we had created some fantastic chances, and we were caught in a bit of a sucker punch, which had a bit of luck attached to the deflection and landed it at Frank Lampard's foot, and of course he did what he always does - he scores from these type of situations. And of course my thoughts going in the tunnel at that time - 'cause it was right on half-time - was to make sure that they weren't going to let this affect them. And of course, what it had done to Chelsea, I think, was to give them a real boost because they knew they were out of the Cup. They knew they had gone but they had got a lifeline, and they took the lifeline in fairness to them. they were the better team in the second half really. And a powerful team - an experienced team, and I had to change the tactics during the second half, and that was one of the reasons I picked the team I did because it was flexible in the way I could play.
Sir David Frost: And you said that you had been looking in the players' eyes as you were looking forward to next season, to see that they're still hungry?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Yeah we do it all the time. When we won the league for the first time, I came out of the dressing room, and I told them I'd written three names and put them in an envelope - the three players that are going to let us down next season; of course there was no envelope. And they're all looking and saying, "Well it's not me!" They're looking at each other you see. So the next season, I did it again, and I think it was Gary Pallister who said, "I think one of your names is in that boss!" But it was just a challenge to them because dealing with success is not easy, you know?
Fergie on Ronaldo's future
Sir David Frost: Are you confident about Ronaldo, you're all over the papers today talking about Real Madrid, but I mean you're confident Ronaldo...
Sir Alex Ferguson: I'm confident about that. I'm very confident, yeah. It's a game they play all the time, David - and in the past they've done it with Beckham, they've done it with Van Nistelrooy, they've done it with my fitness coach last summer - they took him away from us - so we're used to it. And it's great in a way, it's a compliment to the standard of players that we have, you know, and we always seem to produce but I am more than confident Cristiano will be here next year.
Sir David Frost: Well that's good news for all the fans. And after all in the end result, he's got four years of his contract to go, so therefore you'd have to release him and you wouldn't do that?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Of course. Exactly, exactly - and we have very determined directors in the Glazer family, who will not be messed about in this situation. And David Gill is of the same mind, so the core structure of Manchester United, in terms of who run the football club, are adamant and are of the same mind - we want Cristiano to stay for a long long time, and of course, we have rewarded that. He is on a fantastic contract and quite rightly so, he's the best player in the world - he deservers to be recognised in the monetary sense that he's happy with and we're happy with.
Fergie on Gazza
Sir David Frost: In terms of great players and great signings and so on - obviously there were one or two who got away. Who were the main ones who got away you'd like to have signed? One was Alan Shearer wasn't it?
Sir Alex Ferguson: One was Alan Shearer but for me, the disappointing one of all was Paul Gascoigne. Paul Gascoigne to me was the best player of his era in English football. He was a breath of fresh air because he played with a smile, and he played with a cunning and an aggression - apart from all the great abilities he had, he loved playing and he loved winning, and my first experience of Paul - I had just joined the club in '86, and '87 in the March, we played Newcastle in a wee game, and they were just bobbing above relegation. And he had been injured, and he had come back and he had won the two previous games I think, and we got them there in a wee game, and my three centre midfield players were Robson, Whiteside and Moses. Three very competitive footballers, great footballers. And he absolutely tore them apart. He tore them apart. It ended up with one situation. He nutmegged Reme Moses right in front of me in the dugout, and went up to Reme right after he did it and patted him on the head. And I was out of that dugout, "get that little so and so!" And Robbo and Whiteside are chasing up and down the pitch and couldn't get near him... and I says after the game, I says to the chairman... don't leave here, get on that, onto that chairman of Newcastle, I've gotta get this boy, he's the best I've seen for years and years... and it, we had, we had the chance to speak to him, he had a chance to speak to, to Tottenham. I spoke to him the night before I went on holiday, he says Mr Ferguson, you go on holiday, enjoy yourself, I'll be signing for Manchester United; I said, oh great... went on my holidays, lying by the swimming pool... tannoy, Mr Ferguson come to reception, it's Martin Edwards, he says...
Sir David Frost: The chairman, yeah?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Yeah, Martin the chairman. He says I've got bad news. He's signed for Tottenham. I said oh God almighty, how could that be? He says, well, apparently that Tottenham have, have bought his mother and father a house in the north east and that swung it. Well I think that was a bad mistake and Paul admits it to this day because as a 19-year-old lad going to London is not easy for a footballer.
Sir David Frost: Do you think you could have helped him with his personality problems?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Well I think, what we'd be taking away - we're taking London out the road of him. We had Bobby Charlton - a Geordie. We had Bryan Robson - a Geordie. Steve Bruce - a Geordie. We had Gary Pallister from Middlesbrough - we had a structure of players who could have helped him and I think it would have given him some discipline, maybe it would have helped him, too.
Fergie on his future
Sir David Frost: You're going to keep that enthusiasm up long past 70?
Sir Alex Ferguson: [Laughs]. I'll keep the enthusiasm up - whether I'll still be doing the football, I'm not so sure about that! No I don't think I'll be, I think no more than three years - two, maybe two more like that.
Sir David Frost: Two more?
Sir Alex Ferguson: Yeah I think so. I have also got to respect my wife too, 'cause she's suffering. She did suffer because she doesn't go to the games. She's not a football fan you know - she's an Alex Ferguson fan - she's a mother to all these three boys and a grandmother to her children - her grandchildren - that's her life. So when the games are on, she doesn't watch the game you know - she watches the Teletext. Can you believe that? She sits and watches the Teletext!
Sir Alex: The Frost Interview, tonight at 8pm & 10.30pm on Sky Sports 1.
