Ryder Cup: Sir Alex Ferguson drafted in to inspire Ryder Cup team
Last Updated: 24/09/14 3:19pm
Sir Alex Ferguson has been drafted in by Paul McGinley to give his Europe team an inspirational talk before the Ryder Cup begins.
The legendary former Manchester United manager was seen walking around the Gleneagles course as a spectator while the players practised on Tuesday morning.
And under questioning during a midday press conderence, Europe team captain McGinley laughingly admitted why Sir Alex was there.
He joked: "The players don't know - it's amazing, everybody seems to know except the players. I've been trying to keep it quiet, Alex was particularly keen on keeping it quiet - but I guess that's not the case anymore."
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McGinley explained how he recruited Sir Alex: "He's a guy that I've played with in the JP McManus Pro-Am about 15 years ago and he's a guy that I've seen now and again over that time.
"When I became captain, for a number of reasons I asked him. Of course, he was more than willing to help. He's very excited about it and the players will be too.
"I always loved the way his teams played and there's a number of things that he's dealing with that he was particularly good at that I think he'll be a particularly strong fit. There's a lot of similarities.
Natural fit
"I've met him a number of times over the last few months and the more I've met him the more there was just such a natural fit."
This is not about him being a headmaster and coming in and preaching to them - this is about fun and the areas that I'll be talking to the players about, him relating it to football and giving some football stories
Paul McGinley
McGinley, a West Ham United supporter, said Sir Alex's presence should be an occasion to relax the players as well as motivate them.
He said: "He's a big fan of golf, he knows Rory very well and Rory's a big Man United fan - not everybody in the room is a Man United fan so that should be a bit of fun.
"But this is not about him being a headmaster and coming in and preaching to them - this is about fun and the areas that I'll be talking to the players about, him relating it to football and giving some football stories.
"I very much like to think that we're coming from the same direction and he's talking along the lines that I'll be talking about this week."
