The retiring Sir Alex Ferguson has been described as a master of mind games. Stuart Arnold looks at the psychology behind the achievements of a man described as the greatest manager of his generation

IN his autobiography, former Middlesbrough and Manchester United defender Gary Pallister describes how, after having won the league for the first time in 25 years, Sir Alex Ferguson challenged his players to go on and do it again and again.

He asked if it was possible that some of the players were content to rest on their laurels.

Ferguson described how only great teams repeat their success and revealed that in his office there was an envelope with a piece of paper in it on which he had written down the names of the players who he thought might be satisfied with last year’s title triumph and might not have what it takes to do it again.

Pallister describes this as a “masterstroke”.

The players went on to go one better than the previous season, winning the league and FA Cup double for the first time in the club’s history.

“He’d got into our collective psyche that we had a lot of work to do, because no one wanted to be shown up as a name in his envelope in ten months time,” says Pallister.

“Alex Ferguson was, and remains, a master of mind games.”

Dr George Sik, a Newcastle fan, knows better than most about the psychology of football, having written books about it and is expertly placed to comment on Ferguson’s mastery of such things.

“Having won something he was always thinking about the next trophy and the next campaign and so on,” says Dr Sik.

“Anybody who didn’t have that same attitude he lost patience with them quickly, which is why some of his star players didn’t last long because they didn’t share that same dedication.

“He knew how to motivate his players and got results.”

Although it pains him as a Newcastle fan, Dr Sik recalls the way Ferguson used mind games most famously against former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan.

With Newcastle well clear in the 1995-96 Premiership title race, Ferguson chipped away with comments that irked Keegan and finally caused him to blow his top live on television.

A HEAD of a crucial game for the Magpies against Leeds United – bitter rivals of Manchester United – Ferguson suggested the Leeds players who had given his players a run for their money the previous week would not be fully committed to the cause.

Newcastle won the game, but not the war.

Perturbed by what had been said, Keegan launched into an on-air rant in which he claimed he would “Love it, just love it” if Newcastle beat Man Utd to the title.

In the end, Newcastle’s season spluttered out and Ferguson’s team won the title at a relative canter.

Some have since questioned whether the Scot was in fact as canny as all that and pointed out that Newcastle were already running out of steam prior to Ferguson’s comments.

But Dr Sik is in no doubt.

“Ferguson successfully psyched Keegan out.

Newcastle were nine points ahead at one point and had a shocking end to the season.

“Ferguson would say things like ‘Teams raise their game when they play us which they don’t when they play other clubs’.

“There is a law of diminishing returns with some of these mind games, but Ferguson was supremely good at them and knew that certain people would take the bait.”

Dr Sik, a member of the British Psychological Society, agrees that the best football managers, like Ferguson, realise that there is not a “one size fits all” solution with players.

“Some will be a bit more sensitive and need an arm around the shoulder and some will need the ‘hairdryer’ treatment,” he says.

“That is the secret of great management.”

I ask Dr Sik if Ferguson’s time in charge at Manchester United cultivated a siege mentality and whether that helped the players.

“In the case of Manchester United, everyone who is not a supporter really does hate them, so he didn’t have to cultivate an ‘Everybody hates us we don’t care’ attitude,” he says.

“But that kind of thing creates a team spirit, which is increasingly difficult in the modern game because of squad rotation and the fact that players at some clubs are simply a collection of individuals.

“Ferguson was able to get a team spirit going and success bred success to a certain extent.

“He created a culture that any decent player wanted to be part of.”

Dr Sik says Ferguson was able to fine-hone his people skills because he was able to stay at Manchester United for so long, which is unusual in the modern game.

He also agrees with the adage that the best players often don’t make the best managers.

“Some of the best managers like Ferguson and [Arsene] Wenger have been fairly mediocre players or barely played at all,” he says.

“I think if you have been there, but you haven’t been that great and yet you can spot somebody who is great, that marks you out as an exceptional manager.”

Dr Sik says it may now be enormously difficult for Ferguson to live his life without football and he may crave a continued role in the game.

“It is like the old soldier who gets a desk job.

They all hate it and want to be more hands on,” he says.

“For Ferguson, being a football manager is what has defined him so the urge to come back will be great.

“However he probably realises that he can’t do this forever and he has earned his pipe and slippers by being the most successful manager ever. He is doing what Tony Blair hoped to do and didn’t do by going out on a high.”