Sir Alex Ferguson believes it is his natural gambler's instinct that led to so many late wins for Manchester United down the years.
So often did United score in the latter stages of matches it was almost a surprise when they did not manage it.
The epic 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich, when United scored twice in stoppage time to turn the game on its head, was the most obvious example.
But, in a series of interviews with Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse in 2012 that have just been published, Ferguson indicated such triumphs did not occur by accident.
"I am a gambler - a risk taker - and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches," said Ferguson, who it has been announced is to receive the honorary freedom of Trafford borough..
"If we were down with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks.
"I was perfectly happy to lose 3-1 if it meant we'd given ourselves a good chance to draw or win.
"So in those last 15 minutes, we'd go for it. We'd put in an extra attacking player and worry less about defence.
"We knew that if we ended up winning 3-2, it would be a fantastic feeling.
"And if we lost 3-1, we'd been losing anyway."
Source: PA
