Nani Lifts The Lid On Sir Alex

Manchester United winger Nani has given an insight to life under Sir Alex Ferguson and admitted he is finding it hard to make progress at Old Trafford.

Nani, 22, currently on international duty with Portugal, has seen his first-team opportunities limited this season, despite the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and says his confidence has suffered as a result.

Nani has this season had to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench for key league games against Liverpool, Tottenham and derby rivals Manchester City, while he was not included in the match-day squad for the weekend defeat at Chelsea.

And while Nani admits he has not yet lived up to expectations since his £16.5million move from Sporting Lisbon in July 2007, he believes his United career has been undermined by unfulfilled promises.

Speaking to a Portuguese newspaper, Nani said: 'People expect more from me and it is not easy. I could be doing better, scoring more. But just think, I had a huge game today, but the next one, I'm not even sure that I will play. Such a situation breaks the confidence.

'I did not play the important matches, against Liverpool, Manchester City or Tottenham. Not playing these games, I am a bit sad. But for now I am not considering leaving.'

Nani also revealed that he had been on the end of Ferguson's infamous 'hairdryer treatment' on several occasions and admitted the manager's aggressive approach on the training field still shocked him.

'He is a very complicated guy,' said Nani. 'he's tough. If things are OK, he will be OK, but if there is anything he believes to be wrong, you are screwed. He can go from complimenting you to just plain trashing in a couple of minutes. Has it happened to me? Hell, yes. He'll say "Nani, how could you miss this or this?"

'And it is always with **** this and **** that. No one is safe on the pitch. Even Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville get it, but it takes longer with them because they are more experienced.'