Eric Cantona has hailed Sir Alex Ferguson’s ability to work with players to ensure that he gets the best out of them. Whilst his man-management is second to none, it has been widely reported that our manager made special allowances for Eric that he hasn’t made for any of the others.

Cantona has also revealed the pride he had in wearing United’s famous number 7 shirt.

“Ferguson takes strong personalities and works with them psychologically,” said Cantona. “It is very important. It worked for me, 100 per cent. It was for the team. I accepted everything because he gave me freedom on the pitch. He gave me the No. 7 shirt and it became important to me, though I might not have realised its importance in the beginning. I never felt the pressure. He had a kind of confidence in me to give me the No. 7. It was an honour.”