Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to kick him out of the club after the pair got into a heated dressing room row.
Schmeichel was an integral part of United’s winning machine during his seven years at the club between 1991 and 1999.Â
He won five league titles and finished on the ultimate high of a Champions League triumph to complete a historic Treble in his final season.
But it was not all plain sailing for the giant Dane at Old Trafford, as Schmeichel has claimed Ferguson wanted to sack him at one point, and he only saved his Old Trafford career by apologising to his manager and team-mates.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Schmeichel explained: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson picked on me after a game and the second half was so bad, but I made a lot of saves and I felt like I kept the team in. He blamed me for my goal kicks.Â
Peter Schmeichel (left) revealed Sir Alex Ferguson (right) wanted to sack him at Man United
Schmeichel and Ferguson won the Champions League together in 1999, but the former has claimed that moment nearly never happened after a heated dressing room row
‘I felt really heart done by for him picking on me. My head went and that was probably my biggest regret in football and I’m not repeating that.Â
‘On a Monday morning, he called me into his office and said that he was going to sack me and that we can’t have a player doing this. I accepted that and I apologised to him.
‘He had a meeting in the changing room after and it was the worst I’ve ever seen him. He was so angry. He never done that in training before. He left and then I apologised to the team. My behaviour was so out of order. There are certain things you can do and certain things you can’t do.
‘In the 90 minutes, I feel like you can say whatever because it’s all about winning. Before the game and after the game, you can’t say anything. It’s up to the manager or the coach to talk about what happened. You can’t go in and say you played bad, but I did that. I shouldn’t have done that. But he never brought it up again.’
Former United players and staff have often talked about Ferguson’s infamous ‘hairdryer treatment’ where he would turn on his team to get a reaction from them.
Addressing Ferguson’s man-management style at United, Schmeichel insisted the Scot would often pick on certain players and enjoyed confrontation as he felt it would get the best out of the group.
Schmeichel conceded that the exchanges between Ferguson and his senior stars would often be ‘brutal to watch’, but it clearly worked as United went on to win 13 title in the first 21 years of the Premier League.Â
Schmeichel believes Ferguson went after certain players in the dressing room – including Roy Keane – but insists the legendary manager enjoyed confronting his senior stars
Ferguson’s approach paid off as United dominated English football for two decades
‘What I learned very quickly was that Sir Alex Ferguson needed an out,’ Schmeichel added.
‘Very often it was in games where things were going well, or he needed something off his chest. He had certain players that he would do that to.Â
‘I was one of them, Gary Pallister was one of them and Roy Keane was one of them. Ryan [Giggs] was also one of them. It would have been brutal to watch but you were allowed to talk back as a player. He wanted that confrontation because it was shaking things up. He wanted that.
‘What I learned from him was that 95% of everything he said was by the sign and he was thinking about it and was waiting for the opportunity to say that. He would pick those moments and once it happened, gone.’
Peter Schmeichel was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet