SAF: Even Fergie Wouldn’t Survive Now
Mirror: Manchester United legend Mark Hughes believes Sir Alex Ferguson would not have been given the time to build his Old Trafford empire if he was 20 years younger.
Blackburn boss Hughes was United’s centre forward when Ferguson arrived at the club in 1986 - and was part of the team that won the FA Cup four years later before finally claiming the Reds’ first title in 26 years in 1993.
But with United set to face Martin Jol’s under-pressure Tottenham at Old Trafford having failed to win any of their opening three matches, Hughes feels that something has to give.
He said: “You would have to say the days of guys like Sir Alex getting three or four years to sort things out are well gone.
“The rewards are big but there are big costs to be paid as well.
“Everyone is aware of that. It goes with the territory and as a manager you have to accept it.
“We were only two or three games into the season when people started coming under pressure, maybe because they’ve lost a home game and haven’t picked up points on the road.
“At Blackburn, we picked up four points from our first two games and I think it took five or six games before we had that total last year. By that rule of thumb it’s a good job it’s this year and not last year.
“There’s a lot of pressure out there, with forums and platforms for people to have an opinion on other people’s job qualities and how they do their job.
“What annoys me is that, more often than not, those people aren’t in possession of the facts anyway.”
Hughes added: “I think everybody has been astounded by it and it started with Neil McDonald at Carlisle after one game, which was pretty outrageous.
“You don’t know the circumstances of every club, but there’s a ridiculous amount of pressure on managers these days compared to 10 or even five years ago.
“Managers have to have immediate success or they are in trouble.”
