Sir Alex Praises His Coaches

Sir Alex Ferguson feels vindicated in his decision to promote Mike Phelan to assistant manager and Rene Meulensteen to first-team coach in the wake of Carlos Queiroz's departure last summer.

The Reds boss says the two senior members of his backroom team have taken well to the challenge of their new roles.

"We don't like change," the boss told Inside United. "We like to have longevity at the club."

Sir Alex refused to be rushed into a decision when Queiroz departed to take over as Portugal national team coach, but he is pleased with how his eventual appointments have worked out.

"When I was looking around the club, one of the issues we had to consider was the international flavour we have, but other than that Mike was the outstanding candidate for the assistant's role.

"Rene brings a different type of coaching to that of Carlos Queiroz, but still boasts just the same quality. So it was a natural thing to do, I think, and they've both done very well so far."