Sir Alex Ferguson has explained the reasons why he recommended David Moyes to replace him as Manchester United manager.

“What I know of David is he’s hard working and has an integrity about him,” said Fergie. “He’s also got a work ethic about him and he’s a serious football man. I think these are the qualities he’s going to need. He’s got a perseverance about him – look at what he’s done at Everton. 11 years without any tremendous financial backing but he’s persevered with it and created some decent teams in the last few years. They are the qualities he’s going to need at our club. The one thing you have to do is definitely sacrifice and persevere – it’s not always a golden path of riches. You have hard days and difficult days especially with the losses. We lost in the last seconds – for 10 seconds we were champions last year – but that’s part of our history and we’re used to that. Our supporters have suffered many things but also enjoyed many things. It’s just part of our history.”