Highlights

• Ferguson's team talk emphasized the importance of shutting down Steve McManaman and not letting him dictate the game.
• He urged his players not to be intimidated by Paul Ince and instructed them to stand up to his bullying tactics.
• Ferguson had unwavering belief in his team's abilities, stating that if they followed his tactics, Liverpool wouldn't stand a chance against them.

Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably the greatest manager of all-time, not just in the Premier League. The Scotsman had great success at St Mirren and Aberdeen – in the embryonic stages in his career - but undoubtedly his best spell came at Manchester United. And his brazen personality never shone through brighter than it did during his fascinating team talk before stepping out onto the pitch to face arch-rivals Liverpool back in 1998.

Ferguson enjoyed a 26-season spell at The Red Devils. In that time, he won an incredible 39 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League triumphs. Though, two things that made Ferguson such a good manager was his man-management ability and his tactical nous.

Focusing on the latter, football fans were given an interesting insight into his tactics back in 1998. Per the Mirror, Granada TV had been granted access to Ferguson for a behind the scenes documentary, and they captured him giving a team talk ahead of their game against Liverpool in April 1998.

Ferguson gives fascinating team talk pre-Liverpool in 1998

The hot-headed boss warned his side of two key Reds personnel

The clip starts off with Ferguson warning his players about Liverpool’s Steve McManaman, a tenacious central midfielder whose talent was never truly appreciated on the international stage for England, based on the face he hung up as boots as a mere 37-cap international. His talent was recognised by the United coach, however, who knew how good McManaman could be on his day.

"It's straight forward, as far as I'm concerned, you look after McManaman and you close him down quickly. You don't need to detail a player. Whoever is nearest to him, you close him down and don't allow him to dictate the areas of which they play. Three years ago, we lost the league at Anfield by not listening to instructions about McManaman."

He then turns his attention to Paul Ince, saying to his players that they should not be intimidated by the Englishman and his forceful nature, suggesting that Ince’s game play will be ‘bully’ them. The midifelder won two Premier League titles with United from 1989-1995, with Ferguson knowing him very well and even destroying him once with a brutal comparison to Diego Maradona.

"If he [Ince] tries to bully you, f**king enjoy it. Don't attempt to let him bully you. Right? You just make sure you're ready for him tomorrow. That's all you need to worry about him, his f**king big time Charlie bit. He's against f**king men, am I right? That's all you need to worry about him."

Ferguson then points to the board in order to turn their attention to their own game plan. The Scot’s unrivalled belief in his team prevailed as he admitted, should they follow his tactical acumen, Liverpool would not be given a sniff.

"We get the ball transferred into these areas here, I don’t think they’ve a chance against us. I don’t think they have a chance with what you have got.”

Upon the United legend then proceeding to ask his players if they had any burning questions, the room sat completely silent – eerily silent almost, but who can really blame them? For all of Ferguson’s tactics, United went on to draw the game 1-1. Ronny Johnsen gave United an early lead, but Michael Owen's equaliser meant the two sides shared the spoils.

Inside Ferguson’s record vs Liverpool

The Scotsman won 46% of his games against the Reds

Chaos, goals and entertainment also ensued when Ferguson’s Red Devils went to war with Liverpool. It’s a rivalry that is enshrined in the very stitching of the English top tier – it’s part of the furniture, if you will. The hatred between both sets of fans has always meant that their meetings are enticing and with Ferguson in the dugout, that was always the case.

Thanks to the star-studded nature of his respective teams, the now 81-year-old enjoyed meeting their non-geographical rivals at the peak of his powers and has a 46% success rate to attest to that. While in the Old Trafford hotseat, Ferguson locked horns with Liverpool on 65 different occasions – the third-most out of any team – and walked away triumphant on 30 occasions, while drawing 14 times and losing 21 times in which the pair met.

Admittedly, it was never exactly a goal fest. So much so that there are eight different English sides that Ferguson scored more against than Liverpool, despite them going toe-to-toe so often. Ferguson’s side scored 84 times across the 65 meetings, all while conceding 79 times and amassing a points-per-match score of 1.60 – the third-lowest from any Premier League team he had faced.