Sir Alex Ferguson may have once vowed to knock Liverpool off their perch - but the former Manchester United boss was more interested in knocking Roy Keane’s block off when he was challenged to improve his fitness with a bit of boxing.
United’s former Power Development coach Mick Clegg has revealed how he used to goad Fergie into throwing his hardest punches by teasing him that he would never be as adept as Keane when it came to the noble art. Clegg introduced boxing into his fitness regime after Keane told him he loved the idea of getting the gloves out at Carrington - and the manager then decided to put a few rounds in himself to keep in shape.
Clegg recalled: “Roy loves boxing. He did a bit as a kid, so it made sense to introduce it into his training. But pretty soon, most of the other players wanted to have a go as well. It got very competitive - as you’d expect from a team that was packed full of winners. And after I’d given Sir Alex a bit of stick about his own fitness, he asked me if we could do some sessions.
