Sir Alex Ferguson famously used the hairdryer treatment from time to time throughout the duration of his time at Manchester United, where he is remember for being one of the greatest managers of all-time due to his man-management and winning mentality.
Whenever things weren’t going to plan and Ferguson felt he could get more out of his players, the former manager took out the hairdryer in attempt to set the record straight – in United’s favour.
Former United full-back Paul Parker, who played for the Reds between 1991 and 1996, has recalled one fiery occasion when Fergie smashed Steve Bruce’s phone after a poor first-half display.
“I’ll never forget the time Alex ended up smashing Steve’s mobile phone, which happened to go off at half-time leaving the manager in a rage,” The MirrorParker told .
“Steve had left his phone on because his wife Janet was in hospital with a back problem and he was waiting for an update on how she was doing.
“The first half of a game hadn’t gone too well and you could tell we were in for a rollicking because as soon as the boss came into the dressing room he slung off his jacket, which was an indication that he meant business.
“He started laying into some of us big time. Suddenly a phone starts ringing and the first person he looks at is me because for some reason he always associated me with a mobile phone.
“Thankfully I wasn’t guilty and so he started going along the line of players, staring at each one, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Woe betide the person who owned it.”
Bruce was a trusted figure in the dressing room – someone, who during their time at United, won four league titles – but that didn’t stop him getting a rollocking at half-time from the boss. It would be interesting to see how he would react today if this happened in the Newcastle United dressing room.
Parker added: “Eventually, with his ears pricked, he arrived at Brucey’s jacket, pushed his hand into it and pulled out the mobile phone. Without a second thought he hurled it with force into a bin, completely smashing it.
“No-one said a word. Even Steve, who knew it wouldn’t have made any difference, kept quiet.
“You just had to get on with it and Steve knew there was a job to be done in the second half – any domestic worries had to be shoved to one side.”
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