Expectancy driving Sir Alex on to greatness

"A peak of aspiration" is how Sir Alex Ferguson, writing in his autobiography, described winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1999.

Summit
A decade later, the Manchester United FC boss is still climbing mountains. It is now seven years since he abandoned his scheduled retirement and having reached the summit for a second time last May, he can return there with victory over FC Barcelona on Wednesday and join Liverpool FC's Bob Paisley as the most successful manager in European Cup history.

Prodigious energy 
Only Raymond Goethals, with Olympique de Marseille in 1993, has won the trophy at a more advanced age, yet the 67-year-old's prodigious energy shows no signs of flagging. He is at his desk at United's Carrington training ground before eight each morning, save for those days when club business takes him away. And if Mike Phelan and Rene Meulensteen, his trusted lieutenants, manage day-to-day training, Sir Alex is still out there most mornings, observing and cajoling.

Expectation
Asked about the source of his extraordinary drive, Sir Alex told reporters at Carrington this week: "It is difficult to say exactly. There is something you are born with." It is unlikely to have come from his bookworm father Alexander. "My father was very quiet and my mother was probably the one with the real determination." Wherever it originated, Sir Alex is clear about what keeps the fire burning. "I am fortunate to be at the right club. There is an expectation that probably motivates me most of all – the expectation for Manchester United to win every game – so therefore it is very difficult to take it easy. I've always had good players and that also is important, because winning is the name of the game and if you don't win then you are out of the job."

In control
The United machine has just scooped up a third successive domestic title – equalling Liverpool's English record of 18 championships – but life was not always so sweet for the Scot. Go back past the 22 major trophies won at home and in Europe with United, and it was not until his sixth full season that he finally took the league crown to Old Trafford. "That was a millstone around our necks, we had not won the league for 26 years," said Sir Alex. With success, he found, came control. "When I came here I was out of control, you can't be in control of something without winning – only through success can you get control." The United boss has mellowed subsequently according to Ryan Giggs. "When I first came to the club as a 13 or 14-year-old I had never seen anything like it. Even with the youth team, the manager would come down at half-time and have a go at us. He is a lot more relaxed. Obviously he enjoys watching this team playing, watching this team develop."

'Hairdryer'
Yet he still refuses to accept second best. Patrice Evra said: "He likes contact with the players and protects us but he wants us to respect the Man Utd shirt. He is a lovely guy when you do the right job." But when you get it wrong? "When we lost against Arsenal [FC] two years ago, when [Thierry] Henry scored in the last few seconds, he came into the dressing room and I thought he was about to die – he was bright red and just remembering it now makes me scared. People had told me about the legend of the 'hairdryer' – when I saw it, it was very impressive."

‘Kick in the teeth'
His hatred of defeat is only too apparent from repeated references to United's underachievement, in his eyes, in Europe. The 2002 UEFA Champions League semi-final loss to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, in particular, was "a kick in the teeth", denying him the chance to lead United out in the final in Glasgow. However, he has never stopped looking to learn – citing the need, after some salutary lessons post 99, to "start thinking about playing three central midfield players to make sure we weren't exposed". He is desperate to join "that pantheon of teams who have won it four or more times" yet stressed that he would not get carried away by the plaudits should they prevail again. He pointedly recalled last Wednesday how the press had him "in his bathchair on Torquay beach" after the team's early elimination in 2005/06. Nevertheless, he did admit that matching Paisley's three European Cups would have drawn his father's gaze from his beloved books. "I just wish my father was alive. He would have loved that."