U’s boss recalls day he was on wrong end of Sir Alex’s famous ‘hairdryer’...

MICHAEL APPLETON knew all about the famous ‘hairdryer treatment’ Sir Alex Ferguson reserved for slacking players.

But he has never forgotten the full blast of that industrialstrength turbine Fergie gave him as a manager blundering from one thankless job to another.

Appleton, whose U’s side travel to Middlesbrough today, thought he was going to get some paternal advice when he arranged to visit his old boss Fergie (above, left) at Manchester United’s training ground.

But after stumbling into more basket cases than a snake charmer, from Portsmouth to Blackburn and Blackpool, Appleton copped an almighty lecture.

Today, Appleton – star pupil in United’s Class of ’93 (above, right), the crop who followed David Beckham and chums through the fame academy at Old Trafford – could become the first Oxford United manager in 53 years to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.

And he is still fortified by his dressing-down from English football’s most successful manager. Appleton (below, celebrating with his team after knocking out Rotherham in the third round) said: “The biggest thing Sir Alex had was respect – almost a fear factor – even from the likes of Bruce, Cantona and Robson.

“He had just as much respect from those guys as 16 year olds who had just walked into the building. He was a born winner, and when you have someone like him drumming that mentality into you, it’s difficult not to take it on board.

“I saw him at a United game a few months ago and he told me how well I was doing, so I must have been doing all right.

“You know he’s at the end of the phone if you ever need him, and I remember going to see him at Carrington a couple of weeks before he retired.

“I’d just lost my job at Blackburn and went there thinking he would give me some advice. But, for the first half an hour, I got the biggest rollicking ever. I never said a word, I just sat there while he put me in my place.

“He did it for the right reasons – he told me I had to do my due diligence before jumping into managerial roles, and to do my homework in terms of the squad and what it could achieve.

“That was invaluable because it’s exactly what I did when I came here. In the past, I would have just taken jobs and jumped in feet-first, because I was inexperienced and thought I could sort it out. But the reality is that a manager is only as good as his players.

“When Sir Alex was putting me straight, all I could do was sit there and say, ‘Yes, boss’. You wait for the right opportunity to get a word in, but it’s exactly what I needed. I deserved a b ****** ing and I got a real b ****** ing.”

Earlier this week, Appleton handed a new two-and-a-half year contract to goalkeeper Simon Eastwood, who saved a penalty from Aleksandar Mitrovic in the 3-0 win against Newcastle in the fourth round.

And Eastwood hopes he can reach the last eight for the second time in three years after he almost SCORED for Blackburn in the quarter-finals against Liverpool in 2015.

He recalled: “We were 1-0 down in the 94th minute and I galloped forward and nearly made a name for myself.

“It fell to me on the edge of the box and Simon Mignolet had to make a save with both hands. I had to settle for getting his shirt afterwards.”