Cross me and you’re ‘dead’ warns Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed the secret of his managerial style - and it will come as no surprise to anyone who has taken an interest in his 23-year reign at Old Trafford. The ruthless Scot told students at Trinity College in Dublin that "control" was the cornerstone of his success, and warned that anyone who crossed him was "dead".

Ferguson said that while many aspects of football had changed during his glittering career one thing had not - a manager's need for "power and control".

He also gave an chilling insight into the way he deals with prima donnas. "If I lose control of these multi-millionaires in the Manchester United dressing room then I'm dead. So I never lose control. If anyone steps out of my control, that's them dead," he announced.

And who would dare doubt him? The likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam and David Beckham can testify to the Scot's iron fist - they were all jettisoned after crossing the manager. Other superstars like Eric Cantona and Wayne Rooney have been subjectd to the famous 'hairdryer' - the name given to Ferguson's dressing room tirades - and survived.

Ferguson, who grew up in the tough working class suburb of Govan in Glasgow, admitted that he did not fully understand the pampered life of a modern footballer.

"Going back, when somebody scored, everyone celebrated together," he said. "Today, they run across [each other]. I don't know whether it's self-adulation or what. Tattoos, earrings, that's not my world. I've had to adjust to it."

One thing that Ferguson does understand though is success and its effect on his team. "I'm used to it but I'm more concerned about how the players handle it," he said.

The United manager has a fearsome reputation and has no doubt about his status at Old Trafford. "The most important person in Manchester United is the manager," he said. That may sound overblown, but even the club's owners agree with him.

Ferguson's retirement was listed as one of the major problems facing United. The Glazer family admitted "any successor to our manager may not be as successful as he has been" in the prospectus for a £500m bond issue last week. ·