Ferguson Explains McLeish move

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he understands why Alex McLeish left his post as Scotland boss to take charge of English Premier League strugglers Birmingham City.
McLeish's decision to move, after narrowly failing to guide Scotland to the finals of Euro 2008, caused plenty of anger in his homeland.

Ferguson, who helped launch the playing career of his fellow Scot when he was manager of Aberdeen in the 1970s and 1980s, played an influential role in McLeish's decision, with the former Scotland centre-half consulting his old manager before joining Birmingham

"Alex was on the phone all the time, saying he wanted to have a go at the Premier League," said Ferguson ahead of Tuesday's match between English champions United and Birmingham here at Old Trafford.

"There had been two or three attempts to bring him down here and the euphoria and success of the Scotland team just gave him the bug to have a go. He is still a relatively young man and while I am sure he enjoyed the experience of managing Scotland, it was simply that when the chance came for full-time involvement in the daily life of a big club, he went for it. I don't blame him for that and it certainly was not a matter of running out on the Scots."

McLeish's arrival at St Andrews means four of Ferguson's old boys are currently in charge of Premiership clubs - the others are Mark Hughes (Blackburn), Roy Keane (Sunderland) and Steve Bruce (Wigan).

But while the likes of Keane have surprised Ferguson by going into management, that was not the case with McLeish.

Ferguson, who had a family link to McLeish through the Glasgow shipyards, said: "Alex was bright away from football too and in the afternoons he studied accountancy until one day he decided he would concentrate on his football and not take the exams.

"I remember his father, who worked in the shipyards with my dad, was not best pleased with the idea of his son giving up on his studies. He probably thought I was behind it and came round to my house to make his feelings known."

Ferguson also recalled how years after he'd left Aberdeen, McLeish would continue to pick his brains.

"Even in his early days as a manager with Motherwell and Hibernian, Alex used to phone me and ask why I had made certain changes and or about the training programmes we used," he said. "He is a very intelligent boy and was always a certainty to become a manager."

Ferguson, who celebrated his 66th birthday on Tuesday, said Birmingham, three points above the relegation zone, and McLeish were an ideal fit.

"Birmingham have potential crowd-wise. My father supported them and before the War they were the biggest team in Birmingham (Aston Villa are their city rivals). I realise that is a long time ago but I also feel they have one or two decent players so, without question, the foundation is there to do well."

United are second in the table, two points behind leaders Arsenal, after a surprise 2-1 defeat away to West Ham last weekend. But that setback has not persuaded Ferguson to make new signings during the January transfer window.

"We have the squad to do the job, so I will be happy to leave well alone in terms of the transfer window," he said. "In terms of buying senior players we already have all the men we need."