Sir Alex Ferguson set the bar so high that no manager will ever match him

It is a legacy which has become a standard bearer for the modern era, and beyond. 

It began with brief spells at East Stirling and St Mirren, then there were the nine years in charge of Aberdeen before 27 seasons at Manchester United. 

In total, staggeringly, he won 49 trophies, he was made a CBE, he received a knighthood for his services to football, had a statue erected at Old Trafford where the giant North Stand has been named after him.

But his football story is about so much more than the champagne and glory moments.

It is a story with chapter after chapter telling the tales of Fergie’s appetite for hard graft, no matter his age, no matter the time of year, from freezing cold mornings at 7am to long evenings scouting for players or watching opponents. He was first in at United’s training ground and often last out.

Hard work and loyalty are the qualities he inherited from his father and were nurtured by working as an apprentice toolmaker in the shipyards on the Clyde in his native Glasgow before he became a professional player. 

He was also trade union shop steward prepared to fight for his fellow workers rights.

Skills of leadership, man-management and negotiating in the real world helped enormously in his managerial career, a managerial career which ended five years ago but remains the benchmark for whoever takes on a job in the Premier League.

Will anyone ever match Fergie’s record at one club such as his 38 trophies at United? It is more likely that a manager’s lifespan at one club is 27 months, not 27 seasons.

But Ferguson was the man who proved that the lack of instant success does not mean failure, that faith in the man in charge can turn a club around spectacularly.

At Aberdeen, Fergie broke the stranglehold of Celtic and Rangers had on Scottish football but also, improbably, brought them European Cup Winners’ Cup, beating the might of Real Madrid in the final in 1983.

At United, after three and a half years of no success, he turned an under-achieving giant of a club into the global colossus it is now – the high point being the historic treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in 1999.

But while the amount of honours is tangible proof of his managerial ability it merely scratches at the surface of Sir Alex’s legacy to the game.

The style and swagger of his teams, the never-say-die attitude that saw them score those unforgettable two goals in added time in the Nou Camp to break Bayern Munich’s hearts, lift Europe’s top club prize and give the club it’s finest hour. 

Ferguson overhauled United’s youth development system to ensure an assembly line of young talent for the first team.

Everyone remembers the “Class of 92” of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers who came through to play a huge part in United’s success over a two decade spell when they lifted the Premier League 13 times in its first 21 seasons while, remarkably, never finishing lower than third.

But apart from the spectacular achievements of that famed sextet, Sir Alex launched hundreds of other young players into the game, most of whom did not make the grade at Old Trafford but used his influence and encouragement to forge flourishing careers at other clubs while also enriching their personal lives.

And you only have to survey the list of his former players who went on to become managers and coaches to underline the influence he has had on modern football.

He has always encouraged players to take their coaching qualifications while they were still playing. 

Many a manager – whether he played for Sir Alex or not – has a tale to tell about how they plucked up the courage to phone him to ask him for advice.

One of his favourites sayings was “don’t go looking for trouble in football because you’ll soon be confronted by it anyway”.

The respect and admiration for Sir Alex has been reflected in the hundreds of messages of support from around the football world since the shock news of him suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Both Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola – the two most successful managers in the current game – admit that they are highly unlikely they overtake Sir Alex’s total of trophies as a manager because neither of them can imagine having the same longevity – not to mention the drive and enthusiasm – he had at Old Trafford, where he managed until he was nearly 72.

Arsene Wenger came closest to matching Ferguson’s incredible span but is leaving Arsenal after 22 years. 

And the demands and pressures of the top flight modern game means it is unlikely that any manager would be able to remain in charge at one club for a similar period – or even want to.

Look at the struggles United have endured since he retired in five years ago this month.

David Moyes, hand-picked by Sir Alex as his successor, was sacked after only 10 months.

The much-decorated Louis Van Gaal was dismissed after two years despite lifting the FA Cup in his final game.

Mourinho is slowly turning United around but admits he faces a tough job to match Manchester City and still looks a long way from re-establishing the club as the dominant force in the English game.

He will take heart from the fact that Ferguson, for all his glories, also endured plenty of tough moments.

It is hard to believe now but some United fans were calling for his head during the winter of discontent in 1989-90 and it was seven years before he ended the club’s long wait for the title in May 1993.

From that moment on, Sir Alex Ferguson never looked back.