Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

David Moyes recalls Sir Alex Ferguson meeting where he was told he was next Man Utd boss

David Moyes has explained how he was given the Manchester United job without so much as an interview after a meeting with Red Devils icon Sir Alex Ferguson.

The current West Ham manager spent 10 months in the Old Trafford hot-seat before he was eventually dismissed from his post after a role he would he dreamed of veered off course a miserable run of results. Moyes revealed how he got the gig just shy of a decade on from his appointment while talking on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett.

The Scotsman explained how while visiting a jewellers in Manchester back in 2013, he received a phone call from his fellow countryman asking him to pay Ferguson a visit at his home.

Moyes recalled how he arrived at the home of United's legendary manager and was taken upstairs with a cup of tea before Ferguson dropped quite the bombshell on him.

"He (Ferguson) said: 'I'm retiring - and you're the next manager of Manchester United'," Moyes admitted. "No interview, no telling me, not saying 'would you like to be?', no, I'm retiring and I nearly slipped down [off the chair] because nobody knew Sir Alex was retiring."

The 59-year-old went on to discuss his response as he added: "I just sort of went 'yeah, well okay', I wasn't going to turn round - I didn't think I was ever going to say no or I was in a position to say no, that was as simple as that."

David Moyes lasted just 10 months as manager of Manchester United ((Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images))

HAVE YOUR SAY! Was Moyes the wrong person to succeed Ferguson at Old Trafford? Comment below

In what was clearly a whirlwind few days for Moyes, he went on to shed light on how quickly things developed after that initial meeting with Ferguson.

"He said, 'I want you to come back to my house tomorrow, Ed Woodward will come and see you as he's going to be the next chief executive - David Gill is leaving as well. That was it.

"I met Ed Woodward the next day, and then the next day I went back to his house again and we met the Glazers. So it was three days where I dropped back to his house."

Moyes went on to shed light on how he was sworn to secrecy by Ferguson over his retirement plans as he tried desperately to keep his Old Trafford exit plans under wraps.

In the years that followed Moyes' sacking at United, many other manages tried their luck and failed to achieve the kind of success the club was used to under the guidance of Ferguson.

The likes of Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all struggled to get a tune out of a talented side and it is only know under Erik ten Hag do the Red Devils look in any sort of shape to compete for the biggest honours once again.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.