James Horan got to meet Sir Alex Ferguson last Friday night and the legendary Manchester United manager made a big impression on him.

Ferguson was the guest of honour at the Western People Mayo Sports Stars awards and, writing in his weekly column for the paper, former Mayo football manager Horan described him as 'an incredible man with an amazing record'.

Horan writes: "His interview on the night gave us a brief insight into his ways. One thing in particular he mentioned stood out; when asked about new managers in the Premier League and the pressure they are under after a few losses, his reply was that there is simply no evidence to suggest that changing a manager after a very brief period has any correlation to future success.

"There is nothing to demonstrate this but if you back your manager and invest in and trust him over an extended period, there is direct evidence to suggest that success will follow, he said.

"He cited Arsene Wenger, Brian Clough and himself as the obvious examples; men who initially had periods during their tenures with little or no success but they were backed by their boards and the rest is history.

"One other item that was evident was his admiration for three-time World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo. The first thing he mentioned was his work ethic, his bravery and his attitude and desire.

"He said these are the areas where Ronaldo was ahead of everyone else in the world. His application at training (not a commonly-held view among the general public) was unbelievable. His desire to improve is relentless. He mentioned that Ronaldo would score 40 goals a season playing for any team in the world, even if it was a Millwall, such was his skillset.

"A fascinating evening in the great man's company."

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