Fergie would be seething if we lost at Anfield – he couldn’t stand it

Thursday October 12 2017 Neville: “He could not stand losing at Anfield and if we won there it didn’t matter how we played, it was like the best thing in the world. It was a night-out job.

“But if we lost, he’d sit there unmoving and seething in the dressing room at the end of the game while everyone was getting showered.

“Once, when I was a kid just travelling with the squad, I remember him having a massive row with Peter Schmeichel and Paul Ince in the changing room. It was unbelievable, just proper going for each other.

“We always knew that the Liverpool players could hear everything that was being said, probably laughing on the other side of the wall.” Carragher: “As soon as Gerard came in, we found a way of playing against United that seemed to work for so long. We had a scout, a Scottish fellow called Alex Miller, who knew Ferguson quite well. United’s threat was always from the wingers but they came up with the plan of a very tight midfield to get on top of United and stop them from getting the ball out to the flanks.

“Even when Gerard was in hospital [recovering from heart bypass surgery] he was still picking the team. Phil Thompson was giving the team talks but the messages were coming from Gerard. He would watch all the games in hospital and ring us – he was an absolute football nut.” Neville: “The first few times I remember walking out and thinking, ‘Phew, this is an unbelievable atmosphere!’ I found it difficult because, emotionally, it probably meant too much for me. I had given two or three goals away in that run when Liverpool beat us five or six times on the spin.

“I always had this feeling that if we were playing at Anfield in March and April and we beat Liverpool, we were worthy of winning the league because it was the toughest place to go.” Neville: “Sir Alex was never complimentary about him which usually means he might have tried to sign him! He was a big part of our team talks – the message was, ‘Cut