Rare Footage From Inside A Sir Alex Ferguson Dressing Room At Half-Time Shows How Ruthless He Could Be

Manchester United were, without doubt, a dominant force in world football under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson.

It was his single-minded and ruthless approach to the job that drove the club to unprecedented success. In 26 trophy-laden years at the club, Ferguson lifted 38 trophies in total, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cup winners medals and two Champions League triumphs.

And during one of the most successful spells of his career, in the late 90's, cameras captured a rare insight into how he operated the dressing room, as the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes hang on every word the legendary Scotsman says as he laments the "scratchy" passing.

Check out the incredible footage below. "Don't let yourselves down now. Don't even "f***ing attempt it!"

After his retirement in 2013 after almost 27 years in the job, Ferguson admitted he had to be ruthless during his time at the club but it was that win-at-all-costs mentality that helped United to become one of the most successful teams in England.

"I was paid to keep winning, that was my job, so I was ruthless. I'm not going to deny that," Ferguson once said.

"You have to have a strong personality when you're leading people. And I've got a pretty strong personality.

"I never doubted myself," he continued. "Even in the dark days when I first joined Manchester United, I knew that what I was doing was completely right."

Image: PA

As well as being brilliant on the pitch, United were also ruthless off it.

Gary Neville, who spent his entire 19-year career at Old Trafford, once revealed that he had no friends away from the club, describing the place as "an island".

"We were on an island and no one got on that island. The reality was that we wouldn't let anybody in, wouldn't trust anybody else," he told Sky Sports.

"You'd look after your team-mates at Manchester United and everyone else were just acquaintances, colleagues, whatever you want to call them.

"In the dressing room everyone was so single-minded. And as a player, I was probably an unpleasant person. I'm not offended by being called 'Billy No Mates'."

Image: PA

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Topics: Football News, Football, Sir Alex Ferguson

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_