Sir Alex Ferguson laid down some strict ground rules when the Cheltenham festival rolled around, according to former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister.
Throughout a 26-year reign that featured 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League wins, the no-nonsense Scot was renowned for his no-nonsense disciplinarian style.
More often than not, the so-called hairdryer treatment would inspire and motivate. Speaking in his book Leading, Ferguson admitted he wouldn’t change anything about his revered style.
That being said, he thinks it cost his team when it came to winning silverware. “People will give a manager plenty of opportunities to crack the whip so it’s best to pick and choose your moments,” Ferguson said.
“You don’t have to dish out a punishment very often before everyone gets the message. I place discipline above all else and it might have cost us several titles. But if I had to repeat things I’d do it precisely the same because discipline has to come before anything else.”
Ferguson would often put bans in place to keep his players focused on the task at hand. For example, he had serious reservations about the Cheltenham Festival.– a horse racing event that takes place in March every year.
With the footballing season reaching its climax, Sir Alex was understandably sceptical about his players getting involved in the festivities.
Gary Pallister previously recounted what used to happen when Ferguson caught players at the festival.
“My favourite memories of Fergie and horse racing is that if he found out you’ve been to Cheltenham Festival, he’d drop you,” Pallister told Cheltenham Racing.
“He wasn’t into Cheltenham racing then. He didn’t play golf and he didn’t like horse racing. Now he loves his golf and his horse racing and owns horses.
“Back in the day, he wasn’t OK with the lads going off for a day at the races, but that’s all changed and he’s obviously been involved for quite a while now with his good friends from Manchester and had some good success there.”
Ferguson celebrates after his horse Monmiral wins the Pertemps Hurdle at the Cheltenham National Hunt jump. Image credit: Getty
Pallister, who enjoyed a nine-year spell at United between 1989 and 1998, revealed that former captain Bryan Robson had a particular fondness for horse racing, while Paul Ince also enjoyed placing bets.
“Robbo was the biggest racing nut. I always remember we had the players pool at United back in the early days,” he added.
“He was the man because he knew a few of the jockeys and as I say he was England and United captain so he was going to get invited everywhere.
“Robbo, Incey was another one who liked a punt on the horses. I think they were the two main protagonists and they were always having a decent flutter on whatever the tipster got.”
Where to buy last-minute tickets for Cheltenham Festival
Tickets are still available for Cheltenham Festival. Best Mate Enclosure, Tattersalls, and Club Enclosure tickets are up for grabs on popular resale sites such as Viagogo and StubHub. For hospitality and VIP packages, head to the official website now.
