Darren Fletcher has revealed how he was on the receiving end of Sir Alex Ferguson's 'hairdryer treatment' for considering rejecting Manchester United when he was just 15 years old.
Fletcher was scouted by the Red Devils when he was just 12 before signing his first professional deal for the club four years later. The Scotsman would then go on to make 342 appearances for the club in a 12-year spell before departing for West Brom in 2015.
But the 36-year-old recently disclosed to the Lockdown Tactics - hosted by Robert Snodgrass and Kris Boyd, by the way - that he almsot came close to signing elsewhere before signing his pro contract as a 15-year-old.
"I nearly signed for Newcastle United," he revealed.
"I had been going to United from the age of 12 and Newcastle at this point were the second-biggest team. Everyone is telling you, 'look at all of these great United midfielders you'll never get in the team, difficult to break through, Newcastle is closer to home'.
"I really enjoyed it there, great club, Sir Alex Ferguson at this point [2002] was going to retire."
Ferguson would, of course, later reverse his retirement decision and when word got back to the fiery Scot about Fletcher's potential refusal, he took matters into his own hands...
"He phoned the house one night and my sister picked up the phone. 'Here, Darren. It's for you'. It's just the boss going absolutely mental," Fletcher added.
"I'm 15, just chalk-white and he's f'ing and giving it to me down the phone. My mum sees me and grabs the phone and listens for a few seconds and goes, 'don't speak to my son like that ever again', and slams the phone down.
"So the next minute the phone rings up again, it's Sir Alex: 'really sorry, Mrs Fletcher, but we really like your son, I'm coming up on the next flight to Edinburgh," he mentioned.
And although the Fletcher's instead headed down to Manchester as opposed to Fergie making the trip up, the situation's a testament to the United icon's burning desire to see the club succeed.
Fletcher became one of the Premier League's most under-appreciated players throughout his lengthy spell at Old Trafford. During which he secured five Premier League titles and a Champions League crown in 2008.
It's fair to say he made the right decision.
Source : 90min