By Toby Prince
Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has insisted the club did not make a mistake in appointing David Moyes as his successor.
Moyes left Everton to take charge at Old Trafford following Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 but lasted just 10 months before being sacked.
Ferguson, who recommended Moyes, recently suggested the former Everton boss had not been first choice but defended the process by which he was appointed.
Now he has gone further by saying Moyes was definitely the right choice at the time the decision was made.
Ferguson told the BBC: “I don’t think we made a mistake at all. I think we chose a good football man – (he) did a great job at Everton, had 11 years there. We picked the right man. Unfortunately it didn’t work for David.”
The Scot was speaking in a new TV documentary titled Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success, which is to be shown on Sunday.
Ferguson also said that long-serving player, Ryan Giggs, could have been his successor had he retired earlier.
Giggs played on under Moyes and later took over as caretaker manager after the former Everton boss was sacked in April 2014. He hung up his boots at the end of that season and took up a backroom role under current manager Louis van Gaal.
Ferguson said: “If Ryan Giggs had retired six or seven years ago – say he’d retired at 35, quite likely I’d have made him my assistant, and quite likely he could have moved right into the job, with the experience of being assistant manager to me, as he is helping Louis van Gaal at the moment. But I would never ask a player to quit.”
This was something that Ferguson had not mentioned to Giggs before, as when it was put to the 41-year-old in the programme, he said: “He said that?”
Ferguson touched on a number of other subjects in a documentary which examines the methods behind his phenomenally successful career coincides with the release of his new book, Leading.
Ferguson felt Liverpool scored an own goal when they arrived at the 1996 FA Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to United, wearing cream suits.
The 73-year-old said: “Why did they do that? I said to (assistant) Brian Kidd, ‘1-0!’
“I think that’s – what would you call it? – arrogance or over-confidence? I don’t know. It was absolutely ridiculous. Blue shirt, red-and-white tie and a white suit, and a blue flower. Who designed that? They said it was Armani. I bet his sales went down!”
