Source: Telegraph
Sir Alex Ferguson successful because he was given time says Steve Bruce
Bruce helped Ferguson become the most successful manager in the history of English football during his days as United captain but only after the powers-that-be resisted the pressure to sack him in his first few years at the club.
The Sunderland manager will pit his wits against Ferguson on Saturday for the first time since moving to the Stadium of Light doubtful whether anyone can emulate his former mentor's achievements.
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"We were awful at times but United gave Sir Alex that vital ingredient: time," Bruce said. "We seem to be wrapped up in getting instant success now. Would another manager, even at United, get the time that Alex was given to get things right? I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure.
"But he got it right and people like me, who played for him, haven't got a hope of copying what he's done. He's incredible."
Speaking ahead of the visit to Old Trafford, added: "Even in the tough times when I first went there, he was driven, he was a winner. He made all of us who played for him better.
"Down the years, you would think of Manchester United as a flamboyant team that was great to watch. Sir Alex kept that flamboyancy, but he got players and moulded a team that has steel.
"How many times have they scored late goals to win or salvage something from a game? It's not luck, you know.
"Sir Alex always wanted winners, and if your hunger or desire to be a winner wasn't there, you were no use to him."
Bruce joined United from Norwich following a £800,000 transfer in1987 and went on to play for the club in more than 300 games over a nine-year period that saw United win the league championship for the first time in 26 years in 1993.
Their relationship has blossomed since Bruce left the club to the extent that he received a congratulatory text from Ferguson last season when his Wigan side held title rivals Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, which said: "If you weren't so ugly, I'd come and give you a kiss."
It seems that Tyneside-born Bruce was destined to play for United judging by his childhood memories.
"I went to Walkergate School and my mam used to wash the strips for the school team," Bruce added. "She kept a scrapbook of everything involving my football. When I wrote my book a few years ago, she produced the scrapbooks, and there was a letter from my old teacher at Walkergate thanking her for washing the kit.
"But the funny thing was that it said. 'If Steve one day plays for Manchester United, I am sure you won't have to wash the strips then'.
"Quite incredible, really. United weren't winning things at the time when I was a kid, but they were still the club to join."
