The Legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson at St. Mirren

Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably the most known managerial name in the world of football. He has won 49 major trophies in his managerial career, with 17 of those being league titles. He is most known for his success at Manchester United, and his previous job at Aberdeen put him on the European stage.

However, the very first success that he enjoyed was at St. Mirren, where he won his very first trophy, back in 1977. Now retired for a decade, the football world surely misses him, and ever since he left, Manchester United are not the same team.

Bookies don’t even place them among the title contenders, and neither do punters feel comfortable placing bets on United being close to champions. In that line, should you be looking to start your betting adventure, make sure to check out Kwiff’s latest sign up offer.

So, what did Sir Alex Ferguson do at St. Mirren? Let’s take a closer look at this question that might be unknown to many.

The Beginnings

The remarkable journey of Sir Alex Ferguson began in 1974 when he became St. Mirren's manager. He was recommended by Willie Cunningham, the outgoing manager at the club. Interestingly, he had coached Sir Alex Ferguson at Dunfermline and Falkirk.

Ferguson was so confident when taking the job, he even said that he is not going to fail anyone at the club. However, he had faced an incredibly difficult job when he took over, and maybe even he was not yet aware of it.

Taking Over a Club in Decline

St. Mirren had just finished 11 in the campaign prior to Sir Alex arriving, and that was in the second division as well. Love Street, which is the name of their stadium, had a capacity of 25,000, but usually had an attendance of 3,000.

Players had part-time contracts, and St. Mirren were awful in the league, and that was at the worst possible time. The next season, the two top divisions would split into three, with the top six teams going to the new second division, and the rest going down the third.

Confidence and winning mentality had always been among the most important factors in football, and that is something that everyone at St. Mirren evidently lacked at the time.

Changing Everything at the Club

Once he got the job, Sir Alex immediately started putting extra work into making the club a winning one. When he saw the 35 players he had at his disposal, he decided that the vast majority of those have to leave as soon as possible.

He also installed discipline at the club. There are different stories about players such as Mowat, Reid, and others who either defied Ferguson's instructions drove to a game alone instead of with the team bus or missed training because a pop concert was in town.

Every one of these players was out of the team immediately, and it seemed that others got the message. St. Mirren soon started climbing the table, with the team winning eight games in a row, securing the much-wanted sixth place, which was enough to secure a place in the new second division.

People often speak about Sir Alex's temper, which was most notably shown in the famous incident with David Beckham. However, not many know that the same thing happened at St. Mirren, with Stark being the recipient of a boot in his face.

Climbing Up

By the third season, St. Mirren had become very professional in every aspect, with the team being young, exciting and brash. Sir Alex Ferguson’s success even managed to bring more and more people to support their team in the stadium.

There were problems at St. Mirren with people drinking at a place called Waterloo, but Sir Alex had zero tolerance for booze. He made the players sign agreements that they would never drink and go to football matches. This was a tactic that worked, as St. Mirren won the league that season.

Trouble began when Todd bought St. Mirren and he and Sir Alex didn't have the best of relationship. Even though they were back in the first division, that season St. Mirren finished 10th, six points above the relegation zone.

As a result of the bad performances and the various disagreements with the new chairman, Sir Alex Ferguson lost his job, and St. Mirren remained the only club to ever sack Ferguson.

The Legacy

All in all, Sir Alex Ferguson was a St. Mirren manager from 1974 to 1978, transforming the club in every possible sense. The club was in the lower half of the Second Division when he took over, and the average capacity was no more than a couple of thousand people.

The club went from that to being First Division Champions in 1977, nurturing tons of talented players and playing superb attacking football. The average age of the title-winning team was 19, which is remarkable. The Sir Alex Ferguson effect at St. Mirren is still admired to this day, and plenty of coaches draw inspiration from it.