Inevitable question, but have you spoken to Sir Alex since you got the role?
“I have. I don’t like to make any decisions or things without speaking to Sir Alex and that’s something I’ve done since I’ve been at the club and since I’ve left the club, in everything I do. I’ve got a really good relationship with Sir Alex, so he was probably the first person I phoned actually. I wanted to speak with him first. Ultimately, to get his blessing, to be perfectly honest with you. I think he deserves that respect. I wanted to run it by him, what he thought, and he was supportive of it and he echoed my thoughts, what I’ve always said. It’s your job to do the best for Manchester United. When you’re an employee of the club, it’s your job to do your best for Manchester United. It’s something that’s amazing, when he says something I try and live and believe every day. So it was comforting, for me, for him to say that.”
You were a big player here, lots of success. You’ve been here four or five years, done all these roles. In your experience, how much do you think outside scrutiny from people like us, former players, the whole circus – how does that affect players in your squad, do you think it matters?
“I think it has an effect, because it’s part of dealing with being a Manchester United player but I can only reflect on my experience as a player. It was there when I was a player. When I was a young player, I had to come into the team in a season where we finished second and it’s the end of the world. I’ve experienced that. What I look back on is, and I’m very lucky, is that we had Sir Alex, we had Roy Keane, we had the experienced players around us who protected us and helped us. Fundamentally, that’s not the case anymore, because there never will be another Sir Alex. So it is difficult, but it’s the same at every club, and this is the biggest club in the world, so that scrutiny, expectation, standard is there, and it’s something you have to deal with. You have to learn to deal with [it], you have to get help in to deal with it, but it happens naturally. Some people have to take time to get used to it, but slowly but surely they try and have to deal with it constantly. It’s the life of a footballer, it’s the modern-day world and it’s something that the players have to learn to deal with. And they will. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes people can’t and that’s just life, that’s just the way it is. My thing is that it’s there, learn to deal with it. Find a way, however best suits you, and embrace the challenge of being at Manchester United. Be excited by it, but recognise there’s a lot of scrutiny, a lot of pressure and a lot of noise.”
