Ferguson recalls return to Old Trafford after 2018 brain haemorrhage and the matches that shaped him

Sir Alex Ferguson said he was "terrified" when he returned to Old Trafford four months after emergency surgery following a brain haemorrhage in May 2018 to watch Manchester United take on Wolves in the Premier League. He added the welcome from supporters was overwhelming when he and his wife Cathy received a standing ovation as they took their seats in the directors' box.

Ferguson, retired five years at the time of his haemorrhage after winning 38 trophies during 26 years in charge of Manchester United, was 76 when the medical emergency occurred. Now, three months short of 85, he says: "I'm feeling quite good despite small injuries." His new book, Games of My Life, recounts 21 defining matches from his playing and managerial career and he has said he is thankful to be able to speak about those games.

Describing his return to Old Trafford, Ferguson recalled being unsure of the reception and quoted his own feelings: "I wish I could say I was comfortable. I wasn't." He said of the moment he and his wife took their seats: "My wife was with me, and she was nearly crying. When we sat down, she said 'that's fantastic'."

Ferguson described the immediate aftermath of the surgery and the loss of his voice. "I had lost my voice; I couldn't speak," he said, adding: "I remember my grandsons coming to see me and I had lost my voice." He said a therapist used exercises such as asking him to write down the names of birds, names of animals, names of rivers and concluded: "That way my voice came back."

He traces his football beginnings to Glasgow schoolboy football, winning his first cup final for Govan High School in 1955 at the age of 13 and holding the medal from that game. "That was my starting point," he said, and described growing up in Govan as "the making of me", crediting his mother Elizabeth and his father Alexander, who worked in the Govan shipyards on the River Clyde, for shaping his character. "He was so proud of me and my brother," Ferguson said, adding: "He was a hard taskmaster because whenever I scored a hat-trick or a goal, my mother would say 'that's great, son'."

Ferguson recounted his early playing career after debuting as a 16-year-old striker for Queen's Park and a testing spell at St Johnstone that left him close to leaving for Canada. "I wasn't enjoying it. I wasn't playing first-team football; I was in the reserves all the time," he said. After filling in forms and contacting an aunt in Canada he was unexpectedly selected for a Rangers match at Ibrox and as a 21-year-old scored a hat-trick in 1963, a performance he says revived his career; he advised young players: "don't miss the biggest opportunity in your life. It's recognising it."

Ferguson reflected on his managerial record at Manchester United, where he took charge of 1,500 games between 1986 and 2013 and won numerous major honours, including 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, five FA Cups and four League Cups, plus the Club World Cup, European Super Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. The interview was conducted before the Premier League announced on Tuesday that Manchester City had been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of financial regulations between 2009-10 and 2017-18. On the table during the interview were personal items such as the Scotland cap he was finally presented with in 2021, 54 years after appearing for his country, which he received at Hampden Park on the night Scott McTominay - then a United player - scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 win over Israel in a World Cup qualifier; "I remember signing McTominay at seven years of age," Ferguson said.

He showed letters sent by disgruntled fans during speculation over Paul Ince's proposed move to Inter Milan in the summer of 1995, including: 'Don't sell Incey to Inter - or you'll regret it' and 'Every Red is disgusted with you'. "Paul was a tremendous footballer, there's no doubt about that," Ferguson said. "He had incredible ability, but I just had that feeling that he just got carried away a bit at the time." He recounted that "Milan's offer went from £7m to £7.5m and I said 'do it'" and that, as a manager, "You have to make hard decisions, and some decisions don't suit everyone." He also pointed to a notebook containing names he used to reference to motivate players, including Bernard "Monty" Montgomery, Winston Churchill and Ince, and laughed: "I didn't notice that before. I couldn't escape him," recalling he once called Ince a "big-time Charlie" and later saying, "I regret saying that. That was a mistake." The pair have since reconciled. "He's a good friend of mine," Ferguson said. "He used to come over and play snooker with me. He texted me not so long ago."

Ferguson discussed the emergence of the club's youth talents after a youthful United side lost 3-1 at Aston Villa in August 1995, when former Liverpool and Scotland defender Alan Hansen said: "You can't win anything with kids." Ince, 27, and Mark Hughes, 31, had left for Inter and Chelsea respectively while Ryan Giggs, 21, Gary Neville, 20, Paul Scholes, 20, and David Beckham, 20, were establishing themselves; by the end of that season Ferguson's team had won the Premier League and FA Cup double. He said: "We'd worked really hard getting youth into the club again and this bunch of young lads became the spirit of Manchester United," adding: "They added something. Apart from the great abilities they had, they had desire. I put Beckham out on loan at Preston [in March 1995] and he thought I was trying to get rid of him, which was not true. David was the last to really develop because of his physique. Although he grew to 6ft, he was small and thin as a young kid." He defended his long-standing approach to youth development: "I did exactly the same when I was in charge at St Mirren and Aberdeen," he said. "I had belief in young people because if you give them an opportunity there are two things that happen - they become real stars and they can remain loyal to you as a manager."

Ferguson’s forthcoming book, Games of My Life, assembles unseen photographs and first-hand accounts of 21 matches that he identifies as pivotal across his playing and managerial career, from his 1955 school cup final to his retirement as a manager in 2013.