SIR ALEX FERGUSON’S legendary stirring speech to his shattered Manchester United players after Sergio Aguero’s 2012 title-winning strike has been revealed.
The Red Devils and neighbours Man City went into the final day of the Premier League season neck-and-neck in the chase to be crowned champions.
But it looked as if United had edged it going into the dying seconds of the campaign after they claimed a 1-0 win at Sunderland while the Cityzens were trailing 2-1 at home to QPR.
Edin Dzeko equalised in injury time for City, but the draw would still have been enough for Fergie and his men to lift the trophy.
However, Aguero famously popped up right at the death to win it for City, sparking wild celebrations, and earned them their first title for 44 years.
Ferguson, his players and backroom team were left looking stunned out on the Stadium of Light pitch as the shock news filtered through, leaving them devastated.
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But the iconic Scot soon lifted the mood within the United camp back in the dressing-room as he delivered a rousing speech to his heartbroken men which laid the foundations for them to go on to reclaim the title a year later in his final season in charge.
Rene Meulensteen was Fergie’s assistant manager at the time, and he revealed all about the post-match address in his new autobiography ‘Rene Meulensteen: United, Sir Alex And Me’.
The 59-year-old Dutchman wrote: “End-of-season disappointments can really fester into your system and the 2012 defeat was one that was felt by the whole staff.
“In the moments before the players came back into the dressing room at the Stadium of Light, I can remember thinking that it was our shared responsibility to hide our own disappointment to ensure the players did not feel quite so fatalistic.
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“In his post-match address, the boss had transformed our entire mentality as a group, and we were immediately focused on regaining the title. It was something that even our most experienced and successful players hadn’t been through. That was their motivation to go again.”
He added: “It’s in moments like this, looking back and putting things into context, when I marvel even more at what the boss was able to achieve over a prolonged period.
“We discussed what he did and how he did it, but the truth is that it’s not easily replicated. The most stunning thing is that we were in such a pressurised situation, coming out of what could be described as a mentally draining way to lose the league, and at a club where you had to win with style in every game, I never felt any pressure.
“The defeats were turned into challenges. It’s an extraordinary thing, and it is all thanks to the work of Sir Alex.”
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