Sir Alex Ferguson has denied that Mark Robin’s headed FA Cup goal against Nottingham Forest in 1990 saved his job. Manchester United take on Robins’ Barnsley tonight in the Carling Cup fourth round. But the United manager does not believe defeat to Forest would have seen the end of his United tenure, as is widely believed today.
“You never know in football. Who’s to say how the club would have reacted if we’d lost and if crowds had tumbled?” Sir Alex told The Telegraph, today.
“One thing’s for sure though. Bobby Charlton [a United director] would not have let it happen. He knows better than anyone the heartbeat of this football club.
“This football club needed the foundation of youth and we were doing some great work on that side of it. Bobby knew we were on the right road.”
Ferguson, who has seen Mark Hughes, Roy Keane, Steve Bruce, Paul Ince, and Bryan Robson go into management from his 1990’s teams, praised Robins for his management success to date.
“Mark did a great job at Rotherham,” said Ferguson.
“They were going into administration and it’s not easy if that happens because you can’t get any players.
“He had to work with what he had and I think that’s a good start in management, I really do. Learning the hard way is the best way.
“When I was at East Stirling, there were only eight players when I joined the club. I had to get five players quickly just to get a team on the pitch. They gave me £2,000 to get five players!”
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