Fergie: A good chairman is vital

Published Apr. 18, 2011 1:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

The 69-year-old's 25-year reign at Manchester United looks increasingly out of synch with a modern game where managers are increasingly dispensable.

In an interview in the League Managers Association's The Manager magazine, Ferguson said: "More than ever, management is a precarious industry. I say to all young managers that the first thing they need is a good chairman.

"They also need luck and they need to make sure they're prepared to make sacrifices for the job, because this is an unremitting industry.

"It's a results industry, as we all know, but you can help yourself by being totally committed to that alone."

Ferguson is often the first man to speak up in support of sacked managers, and he admits he finds it difficult to comprehend the thinking behind some decisions.

"My sympathy goes out to managers who lose their jobs," said the Scot, who was particularly disappointed by Roberto Di Matteo's departure from West Brom earlier this season.

"There's been a lot of unusual sackings lately, which I've found hard to understand."

Ferguson, meanwhile, revealed there is no chance of him getting carried away with his success - because his wife, Cathy, will not even let him keep his trophies at home.

The former Aberdeen boss added: "I prefer to think about what's ahead and what next I can achieve, and I think that has kept my feet on the ground quite well. I've never got carried away with it.

"My wife, Cathy, is fed up with the whole thing. When Alastair Campbell phoned her about my knighthood she said to him, 'Do you not think he's had enough rewards?'

"You'll not find a thing about my career in the house at all. She's unbelievable. I can't even take a football book home or she'll say, 'What are you doing with that?"