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Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has been reminiscing on his days at Old Trafford.
The United legend played 602 times for the Red Devils and won 21 trophies during his time at the club, including eight league titles and two Champions Leagues.
Between the recent 99 Amazon Prime series and United surprising the footballing world and beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, there has been a lot of nostalgia and looking back with fond memories for Red Devils fans across the world.
Speaking on the MUTV podcast, Neville opened up on his time at Old Trafford and, in particular, discussed the type of environment the mythical Sir Alex Ferguson created for his players.
“He created a siege mentality. A purpose. There was always this idea that it was against the world. He created a siege mentality like we hate everybody by the way. So he created that, he’d build that up. It could be referees, it could be opposition managers, it could be opposition players. It could be the media.”
No Premier League fan in the late 90s or early 2000s could forget the famous intense rivalry that was created between United and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side, which gave the league some of its most thrilling battles and title fights.
Adding to the atmosphere in the dressing room, Neville explained that he believed one of the biggest reasons for the treble winning team’s success was not only sheer talent, but their sense of togetherness.
“The one thing that I always say is, no matter where you came from, whether it was Manchester, or Bury, or Trinidad and Tobago, I felt like everybody was a United fan in that dressing room. I felt like everyone was a United fan in that dressing room. Everyone was together.”
“You became a fan. The club literally grabs you, grips you and makes you love them. That’s how I felt it was.”
The 49 year old argued that Sir Alex could have found better players than the likes of himself, Phil Neville, David May or Nicky Butt, but it was a master stroke to keep these types of players around that created the togetherness and desire to run through brick walls for the club.
Neville then spoke out on the manager’s famed trust in youth, being part of the famous class of 92, or Fergie’s fledglings as they also became to be known, alongside his brother Phil, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Butt.
“I remember him saying, when you give young people a chance, they’ll amaze you and they’ll run through barbed wire fences and I always remember him saying that to me. And he did put his money where his mouth was.”
The Sky Sports pundit also claimed that Ferguson did not only trust but he also gave the youngster the best platform to succeed in.
“A lot of people talk about a pathway for young people and he trusted them. He created a wonderful environment, we had the best training ground, the best gym and the best food. We had everything.”
United fans across the world will hope that INEOS are taking notes on statements like these as they aim to grant every United fan’s wish and propel the club back to the top table of domestic and European football.
🗯️ “There was always this idea that it’s us against the world.”@GNev2 talks us through what he believes made Sir Alex so special in his new #UTDPodcast episode ⤵️#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 5, 2024
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