Sir Alex Ferguson opens up on his biggest mistake at Manchester United

The legendary Manchester United manager has opened up on his biggest mistake while at the helm of affairs at United.

The Scotsman enjoyed a higly  successful 27 years at the club, that makes him one of the most successful managers of all time.

He retired in 2013, but  eleven years before that in 2001, Fergie announced he was retiring at the end of the season, in a move he believed affected everyone at the club.

Sir Alex made the pronouncement at the start of the season in 2001, and United finished third, ten points behind Champions Arsenal. And were knocked  out of both cup competitions.

“The biggest mistake I made was announcing it at the start of the season," Fergie told Daily Mirror.

"I think a lot of them had put their tools away. They thought, ‘Oh, the manager’s leaving’, but when I changed my mind in the January, I started thinking about United again and how we could get back on top."

Fergie's decision not to retire then led himself and United into arguably the most successful period of his era at United.

Sir Alex Ferguson also stressed the importance of listening to staffs and family.

“It’s important to listen to your staff.

“It was a mistake and my wife and my three sons changed my attitude towards it and I started to think again.

“After that is when Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo came to the club and we had to regenerate everyone.

The youth side of it, the scouts, we’d gone to sleep.

“Strangely enough, the period from there on has been glorious – it’s been fantastic with the numbers of league titles we won. The moments you don’t win anything register very strongly."