Rio Ferdinand has given insight into Sir Alex Ferguson's incredible management after revealing that the former Manchester United boss informed him that he must not spend time with Dwight Yorke on his first day of training.
Ferdinand had controversially joined Manchester United in 2002 from their rivals Leeds for what was a world-record transfer fee for a British player at £30 million.
The 23 year old centre-back went to Manchester and Ferguson gave the player a warning to ensure that Ferdinand would reach his potential and maintain the highest standards with the club.
Ferdinand spoke about how he had spent his first morning with Yorke before training and as they were walking on to the training pitch, Ferguson called the England international over to have a stern conversation.
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Ferdinand said: "I walked over and he went, 'Do you want to be here for a long time?' I said, 'Yeah, I want to win everything and I want to do it as well as I can, boss.'
"He said, 'Well the first thing you should probably think about doing is not hanging around with him (Yorke) because he ain't going to be here'. Wow. I said, 'What?' He said, 'He was unbelievable. He won everything but (he's) complacent now'.
"When he said that to me, it just hit home that no one is safe at this club. No matter what you have done. Dwight Yorke was walking around as the king of Manchester as he'd won the treble and he was an integral part of that.
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"But if you start letting standards slip maybe or if the intensity is not there at the training ground, you've got to go.
"That conversation stayed with me for the rest of my career at Man United. That fear of being pushed out the door because I wasn't as intense as I was at the beginning."
This fascinating story gives one example of exactly how Ferguson is considered one of the most ruthless and great man managers in football history.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Football, Manchester United, dwight yorke, Rio Ferdinand