During his Old Trafford days, Lee Sharpe was almost as famous for his off-field misdemeanours as he was for gliding past opposition fullbacks.
The former Manchester United winger – who scored 36 goals in 265 appearances between 1988 and 1996 – was known to enjoy the Manchester nightlife so much that manager Alex Ferguson would send spies to keep an eye on him.
Sharpe was often dropped following run-ins with his gaffer. Now, he tells FFT his secret to winning Fergie back round during turbulent times; the 53 year old revealing there was only one sure way to do it.
“Hard graft is the key”, according to ex-Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe
“Unfortunately, the answer is hard graft,” Sharpe tells FFT on behalf of William Hill. “Purely hard graft – that was the secret. Work hard in training, work hard in games and just try and get your form up.”
That was easier said than done, however, particularly with Ferguson so hard to please at the best of times.
“I suffered with dips in form and injuries during my time as a young player at Old Trafford and the manager wasn’t the sort to put an arm round me and tell me how good I was,” Sharpe says. “If you played a poor game or got yourself into bother off the pitch, he’d tell you exactly how shit you’ve been. You just had to deal with that and sort it out. There were tough times but hard work and graft are the key to winning a manager back round.”
So how exactly did Sharpe win Fergie round with his performances? “You’d track back and help your full back out, work hard inside to help your midfielder out,” he explains. “For me, as a winger, it was all about knocking it down the line and giving your marker a foot race, even if you’re just winning a throw in to give the crowd a lift.
“It’s about getting that little bit of confidence. You might not win every duel but you’ve got to give your full-back a tough afternoon, whip in a cross, get a goal and get yourself back in the gaffer’s good books.”
Manchester United’s latest manager, Ruben Amorim, is currently dealing with his own unruly wingers, with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro recently dropped from the Manchester derby owing to issues. The manager revealed that neither player had impressed him on and off the field since his November appointment and that both would need to work hard to recover their place in his first-choice XI.
If Sharpe’s experiences are anything to go by, hard graft represents the best way back into his good books.