Paul McGrath claims Fergie made David Moye’s job more difficult

Paul McGrath reckons that Alex Ferguson didn’t do David Moyes any favours with the timing of his headline-grabbing autobiography.

“To get where Fergie got, you need a massive ego,” said the Ireland and Manchester United legend. That thing about always wanting to be correct.

“But I genuinely think that when he wrote the book criticising certain players, that was a bit far. Why could he not have given David Moyes a couple of years’ grace and then written the book?

“It’s always going to sell, so give him time to settle into the club. I think it was a little shabbily done.”

While Roy Keane — a target for probably the most controversial criticism in the book — recently described his relationship with his former manager as “non-existent”, McGrath yesterday told RTÉ Radio of how he subsequently reconciled with Ferguson having himself left Old Trafford under a cloud.

“I did not speak to the man for five years after I left the club because I did love Manchester United,” he said. “Just because I went in and asked for a higher wage — I just thought I had come of age, won player of the year but [I was] still on wages that some of the reserves were getting. I thought that if I was ever going to be brave then it was then. So I went in and asked for the wage I felt I was worth. He said that I should be happy to be wearing the red shirt so it all went off from there.”

But the pair eventually reconciled after McGrath had moved on to further success at Aston Villa.

“We beat Manchester United at Wembley in the League Cup final and that’s the first time he came up to me,” he recalled.

“He gave me a belt in the stomach — a little too hard but luckily I was tensed up! — and he shook my hand and said ‘well done son’.

“From that day since he has been a gentleman. He has ways of coming back and apologising for what he sees as a small mistake in his managerial career.”

Yesterday, ‘The Black Pearl’ also recalled a memorable meeting with ‘The Black Panther’ — the occasion when the late Eusebio came looking for McGrath’s Irish shirt.

“At first I did not believe it when the lads were saying that he was knocking on the door,” McGrath recalled.

“He wanted to see me because he wanted my jersey. What an honour and I would have given him the suit I had hanging up as well had he asked for it. He was an incredibly humble man.”