Sir Alex Ferguson scared players into wardrobes in party broken up by Ryan Giggs' mum

Sir Alex Ferguson's infamous hairdryer temper was felt by many Manchester United players during his glittering 26-and-a-half year reign.

None more so than Ryan Giggs, Lee Sharpe and a group of young United apprentices when Ferguson arrived unannounced to break up a house party just days before a huge game against arch rivals Liverpool. And the boss was so scary that he had played jumping into wardrobes to hide...

With United not in action until the Sunday, Giggs, Sharpe and a group including fellow United youngster John O'Kane decided to have a night out on the town on the Thursday.

The group, most of whom were still living in digs, all met at Sharpe's new-build home in Altrincham and were getting ready to for their night out, unaware of the twist their night was about to take.

O'Kane, who came through the United ranks with Giggs and Sharpe, recalled the night 25 years ago which has gone down in folklore as a legendary tale of Fergie's formidable man-management - not to mention his volcanic rage when crossed.

“Sir Alex used to have a lot of spies placed all over Manchester and he knew everything - well almost everything,” recalled O'Kane. “If we wanted to go out, it had to be a military operation.

“There was no game for a few days, so Giggsy and Sharpey had arranged to go out for the day on the beers.

“When they got back to Sharpey's house they arranged for a few mates to go round to his house. Obviously, back then, you could get away with most things without people spying or videoing you out and about.

“I think Sharpey rang one of our digs' houses to see what we were up to, because the next thing me, Lenny Taylor and Raphael Burke were in a car and on the way to his new house, which he'd just moved into.

“We were young apprentices, wet behind the ears and all of this was exciting, not really knowing the consequences later on.

“I remember clearly us three young apprentices were buzzing upstairs with a few girls, getting ready to go out for the night, when I heard a knock at the door - we were all thinking 'more girls have arrived'.

“So I popped my head downstairs and saw a red-faced bull in Sir Alex, looking like he was out for blood. I thought to myself 'am I pissed here or hallucinating?' so I ran back upstairs to tell the boys the gaffer was here.

“They thought I was winding them up, but I said we needed to hide in the wardrobes, which we did at first, but we then realised if he caught us he would kill us.

“So I decided to walk down and face the music. Sir Alex cuffed me and the rest of the boys around the head and said 'get the f*** out of here, back to your digs and see me Monday morning - you're f****d'.

“As apprentices, we all thought the worst and I was thinking 'that's it, my United career is over before it's started'.”

Sir Alex Ferguson

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Fergie's warning

O'Kane, 51, who would go on to play for Everton, Bolton and Blackpool, before retiring to pursue a career in teaching, recalled the fear of the following Monday morning, when all of the culprits were summoned to Ferguson's office at The Cliff, United's training ground.

“On Monday, Sir Alex got us all in his office, one by one,” said O'Kane. “He said to me that if I ever made another mistake like that, I would be done for. He told me stay away from Sharpey and his antics.

“I think that's when he also told Giggs he had to focus, as Sharpey was on the way out. Sharpey was a class player, but Giggs was a different animal back then and eventually took Sharpey's place.

“I remember Sir Alex tearing a strip off Sharpey in his own living room and I also remember Sharpey having this huge set of drums in his living room, which was funny as f***.

“Great guy was Sharpey and a great player, but he loved the night scene a little too much. So did I, to be fair, but I wasn't a big drinker back then. I have some great memories and there were some wild nights, but you can't have those nights out anymore, there are too many phones about and the games is more professional these days. But I wouldn't change a thing - especially that infamous party. It was a life lesson!”

The Mole: Giggsy's mum

It later transpired that Ferguson's snitch was none other than Giggs's mother, who had phoned the United boss to tip him off about the players' party and planned night out on the town.

“I had no idea until about 12 months ago, when someone told me, but Giggsy's mum had rung him and said 'I'm not sure what you're up to Mr Ferguson, but our Ryan and a load of his mates have just gone around to Sharpey's house',” recalled Sharpe.

“He [Ferguson] was at a dinner in Southport, a black tie dinner apparently, and he put his knife and fork down, halfway through his dinner and went 'Sorry, I've got to go, I've got a problem with one of my players' and drove straight round to my house to boot everyone out. It ruined the night for us!”