Rene Meulensteen, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant manager at Manchester United, assessed the club after reaching the Europa League final despite an underwhelming season which has left them on the verge of their lowest finish in Premier League history.
Meulensteen also opened up on Cristiano Ronaldo’s motivation to be better than Lionel Messi, who received the worst "hairdryer" treatment during Ferguson’s days as manager, and whether Antony will remain at Man United this summer.
If Cristiano Ronaldo had stayed, could United have dominated in Europe?
“Possibly but Cristiano had a desire and motivation to one day play for Real Madrid and Cristiano honored his word to Sir Alex by staying at the club for an extra year and then he went to Madrid. When he then went there, he had a great education and foundations from what he had learned at United.
“He was a great trainer, fantastic professional and always trained hard and wanted to do extra to maximize his performances. Apart from being successful at the club and winning trophies, he had his own personal journey to become the best player in the world and he knew every day that he was working towards that and against the competition from the likes of Lionel Messi.
“That is a testament to him because when Messi was flying in one season and scoring so many goals and Cristiano was left behind a little bit, it’s easy to throw in the towel. But he never did and actually picked up the glove and worked even harder. The following season he was then the top goalscorer and won the Ballon d’Or and that is a testament to him back then and now as he is looking after himself at 40 and looks in good shape, plays in Saudi and for the national team scoring important goals.
“What he was like in the changing room, I can only say what he was like on the pitch because around Carrington, that was for the players not for the coaches, but I imagine he was a bubbly character, full of energy and full of confidence. That rubbed off to other people as well but if he would’ve stayed, he was going from strength to strength and the work we did with him to turn him into more of a goalscorer and when he made that transition, he carried it on with every club he has since played for.”
Why have so many ex-United players struggled to become good managers?
“It’s completely different with the set of qualities you need to be a good manager and the coaching and being a manager has changed over the last 20 years. When Sir Alex first started in Scotland and went to Aberdeen before joining Man United in 1986, you look at all of the changes and you can’t compare it, especially with how big the Premier League is and the pressure. The analysis, the strength and conditioning side, it takes a different kind of skillset. There have been many who have tried it.
"Steve Bruce has done really well and has been a brilliant manager over time and has done some great stuff and then Roy Keane has been with Sunderland. I couldn’t see Paul Scholes as a manager and Gary Neville tried it but found out at Valencia that it’s better he is in the boardroom.”
Do you think Michael Carrick will have success as a manager?
“Michael has done okay and is doing well at Middlesbrough. Missing out on the playoffs is a bit disappointing but Michael is the type of manager he was as a player. He’s meticulous in his preparation, tactically very good, flexible in that respect by not sticking to one particular thing and he’s done well. He’s got a good personality, is calm and reflects anything around him.
“All of the other ones like Rio Ferdinand have gone into media and has done very well, similar to Owen Hargreaves, Patrice Evra … . I have a lot of time for him and every now and again, we text each other. I like the way he is, how he sees life and important aspects of life, he sees the bigger picture and will never lose where he has come from. It’s hard these days to become a manager and be successful and stay in a job. It’s not easy.”
What was the worst hairdryer treatment you witnessed?
“In all of my time as a first team coach, I can only remember when he raised his voice after West Ham when Nani got sent off towards the end of the season and basically, he did it to fire up all of the other players to say, you have to work double as hard to get us over the line. He didn’t want anyone to feel hard done by, but he was direct and tough with Nani but with a hidden message to all of the other players.
“Other than that, I always felt he was spot on and never spoke for too long. He addressed things in two or three minutes at half time and that was it. I was lucky to be there at a time when we won more than we lost so most of the time it was great. If he did run into a defeat we didn’t expect, even with a 6-1 defeat to Man City, you would think here we go. But the biggest thing that I took away from it was he was disappointed by the lack of players listening.
“We got 1-0 down and Jonny Evans gets sent off and then go 3-0 down and we started going forward and Darren Fletcher scores to make it 3-1. It would’ve still been a hard struggle. Sir Alex was big on goal difference and losing 6-1, he said it cost us the league and it did by one goal.”
What would you do with Antony?
“I would not bring him back that is for sure. He never looked great here and the boy’s performances are fueled with the wrong personality. That’s his problem. You can’t compare the Premier League with La Liga. The Premier League is totally different and it’s a total misjudgment from Erik ten Hag, they bring in players that they know (previously) and they don’t necessarily understand the environment they bring them into. It is easy to be the star man in the Dutch league because you can’t compare (the level). I wouldn’t bring him back.”
What would Sir Alex Ferguson have done?
“He would never have brought him because one of the things that we know in Sir Alex’s time at the club, there were players that came and left who weren’t up to it. There is always some kind of gamble, but you try to minimize that gamble.
“One thing that Sir Alex was always big on was what kind of personality was I bringing into that squad? Because he created that environment and work rate and working is the greatest quality and if you don’t have it you don’t belong here. That got taken over from the likes of Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs. When anybody came in, they had to get on into that same format as quickly as possible otherwise it would fall on the wayside.”
