Gary Neville has named the Manchester United teammate who was absolutely ‘brutal’ on him in training.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United sides certainly didn’t lack strong characters.
While the legendary manager set the standards off the pitch, players like Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel maintained them on it.
Gary Neville became a real leader during his prime years at Old Trafford after coming through the academy set-up.
Indeed, Neville racked up over 600 appearances for the Red Devils and was ever reliable at right-back during United’s best years in the Premier League.
But while he was breaking into the first team in the late 1990s, one of United’s senior players thought he wouldn’t be good enough.
Neville says Manchester United teammate was ‘brutal’
Speaking on Stick to Football, Neville reflected on his early years as a United first-team player.
The Englishman claimed that Peter Schmeichel was harsh on him behind the scenes as the legendary goalkeeper viewed him as a ‘risk’.
“Peter Schmeichel was brutal with me in the early days in training,” Neville said. “He told me at one Christmas do I thought you were a risk.
“He said Paul Parker was an amazing defender, we had a great back four, you were the first person to break into the back four and I saw you as a risk. I didn’t think you’d be good enough. And I thought you’d cause people more problems.
“In 1998 he told me that. And you [Roy Keane] was like that, Incey was like that, the boss was like that. It was almost like an initiation.”
United are lacking leaders at the moment
While some may view Neville’s ‘initiation’ as slightly harsh, it certainly benefitted the defender.
Neville went on to scoop 12 Premier League titles at Old Trafford, as well as two Champions Leagues and four FA Cups. The right-back also captained United for five years during the latter stages of his career.
It’s fair to say that the current United side lack real leadership and this has been a cause for concern for several years now.
Erik ten Hag could probably do with a couple of characters like Neville and Schmeichel, who were renowned for their leadership on the pitch.
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