“I told Sir Alex, ‘At St Mirren, you failed to sign a future double European Golden Boot winner, but to be fair, you didn’t half recover from that mistake’”: Scotland legend reveals Ferguson's huge mistake when starting out as manager

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, 2008.

Scotland legend Ally McCoist has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to reject him as a teenager at St Mirren in 1978 ultimately proved a useful learning experience he then used himself as a manager at Rangers.

Ferguson had released a teenage McCoist at St Mirren for being too small. While devastated, he never forgot how the future Aberdeen and Manchester United boss broke the news gently, encouraging the budding striker to prove him wrong by becoming a success elsewhere.