Highlights

• Sir Alex Ferguson was a ruthless manager who didn't tolerate any misbehavior from his players, even during his final season.
• After a loss to Man City, Ferguson discovered that two Man Utd players had gone out partying, and he publicly shamed them in front of the entire team.
• Ferguson had clever tactics for keeping tabs on his players, including knowing nightclub bouncers and having someone monitor their social media activity.

It’s fair to say Manchester United miss Sir Alex Ferguson. The club haven’t won the Premier League title since the 2012/13 campaign - Ferguson’s final season before retiring. In total, he won 13 Premier Leagues with the Red Devils and oversaw a quite incredible era for the club.

One reason Fergie was such a good manager was his ruthlessness. Whether it was Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney or David Beckham, Ferguson took no prisoners no matter how much of a star they were. If you crossed the line, you were out.

And even during his final campaign, Ferguson upheld those standards. So much so that he went mad after discovering two United players had gone out partying after his side had just lost to Man City.

Ferguson’s side still held a 12-point lead despite the loss but the Scot wasn’t having any of it. We’ll let Robin van Persie tell the story...

When Ferguson found out two Man Utd players partied after losing to Man City

"In my first season, we were 15 points ahead in the league, and we welcomed Manchester City to win the title,” Van Persie told SoFoot. “If we won this match, it was 18 points ahead, but we had lost. This still left us 12 points ahead, most managers would not have dramatised the situation. The boss, on the other hand, he went up in the turns. It was really hot.

“Two guys from the team were out after this loss. The day after the match, he had pictures of the two players posted in the dressing room during their night out. And he said to the whole team, 'Ok guys if we don't win the championship, know that it's because of those two a**holes that chose to go out. Yeah, I have the names, but I really can't give them. It was incredible, he had pasted lots of photos, we had limited the evening of the two players hour by hour: 2am, 3am, 4am, as if to emphasise the extent of their bulls**t.

"He didn't stop there, he warned us all: 'Guys, listen well if we don't win the championship, it's because these two have decided to go out to have fun. From now on, if I see a player come out before the trophy is lifted, that player is out.' He was ruthless. 'I don't care about who you are, how many trophies you've won so far. If you go out before the end of the season, you leave the team and I'll sell you.'  After that speech, we went to train, and it was the two hardest workouts of my life. Twelve points ahead and that's his reaction.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all time.

What Ferguson said after Man Utd lost 2-1 to Man City

The match that Van Persie is talking about came on April 8, 2013 when City ran out 2-1 winners at Old Trafford. James Milner had given the away side the lead early in the second half before a Vincent Kompany own goal saw United draw level. But Sergio Aguero produced a brilliant finish past David de Gea with 12 minutes remaining to give Roberto Mancini's side all three points.

After the match, Fergie admitted that United tend to 'make it difficult' for themselves when it comes to winning league titles

"If you look at the history of our club, we always make it difficult for ourselves," said Ferguson. "We have our supporters hanging on the edge of their seats every year. We have a 12-point lead but we won't be taking anything for granted. The plus point from today is that we only have seven games left now. As each game goes along you whittle them down.

"We have Stoke on Sunday. The support will be great and we will have a go. We have to kick on now."

How Fergie knew when players went out in Manchester

Ferguson insisted that they 'won't be taking anything for granted' and that perhaps explains his reaction when he discovered two players had been out partying following that City defeat. But how did he know that two players had been out partying in Manchester? Well, many former Man Utd players down the years have revealed the manager's genius tactics.

"With Fergie he knew every bouncer of every nightclub in Manchester," former United striker Mark Hughes said. "That's where he got his information from! It wasn’t a bad tactic in those days because a lot of the lads were bouncing round nightclubs thinking they were getting away with it."

Rio Ferdinand added: "The problem is in Manchester – it's smaller than London – he wouldn't have to call anyone. Everyone would call him [Ferguson] because they want to be his mate… He knew everything; it was like the Mafia."

Current technical director of Manchester United, Darren Fletcher, played under Ferguson for many years and explained how his former boss would 'spy' on his players.

"He had an iPad, too, and all the apps," Fletcher revealed. "He had someone at the club following players on Twitter. So he would say to a player,'"Did you have a good day out yesterday?' and the player would be, 'How the hell did he know I was there?' and I would be thinking, 'Well obviously you have posted a picture of yourself on Twitter haven't you!' He didn't need to have spies in nightclubs any more, he could do it all from his armchair!"

Following Ferguson's warning to the squad, they were never going to throw away their commanding lead at the top of the table. In the end, United beat Manchester City to the title by 11 points which saw Fergie end his managerial career in the best way possible. We're still wondering who those two players are, though...