David Moyes: New manager would do well to heed Sir Alex Ferguson's first words at Old Trafford

Sir Alex Ferguson (left): 'When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes' David Moyes (right): 'It’s a great honour to be asked to be the next manager of Manchester United' (Getty Images)

Sir Alex Ferguson became manager of Manchester United 27 years ago, and that now feels like a completely different age.

There was an autograph hunter outside the club’s training ground, there were photographers but it was the old world of football.

There was no live feed when Ferguson spoke his first words as the manager of United. The internet as we know it had not even been invented. British Sky Broadcasting was still to be formed. The media age that Ferguson would make reference to when he was asked to discuss the past achievements of Bob Paisley, Bill Shankly and Matt Busby was still to emerge back in 1986. The glaring impact of the demands of one of the biggest clubs in the world (albeit a failing one) were not as immediately evident to Ferguson.

“I remember my first press conference,” he has since said. “Someone said that just because I was a success in Scotland, what made me think I could be a success in England. There was no answer to that. I said I can only do my best.

“I am not really interested in what has happened here in the past. I don’t mean any disrespect to the great achievements of Manchester United over the years. It’s simply that now there is only one way to go, and that is forward.” Much has changed but those words will serve Moyes well.