‘Ferguson was the complete package’

For all the heated showdowns with Roy Keane, altercations with David Beckham and angry confrontations with anyone who threatened his authority; adaptability rather than irascibility should be the key word to remember Alex Ferguson’s time in management, according to a leading sports psychologist who has analysed the Manchester United legend’s career.

Ferguson’s already infamous memoirs have generated an avalanche of headlines and created an impression that the most successful manager in football history ruled by fear and loathing at Old Trafford.

But for sports psychologist Dan Abrahams, who has worked with Premier League clubs and players and whose current book Soccer Brain deals with the psychology of coaching, Ferguson’s autobiography is as much a textbook for leadership as a history of controversy.