STRUGGLING Championship club Preston North End learnt a harsh lesson this week – don’t mess with the football institution that is the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson is one of the most revered men in the game, a manager with an almost unmatched honours list and a tough, powerful Scot with a demeanour that at times can be fearsome.

FOOTBALL managers, bless ‘em, they don’t half come out with some twaddle.   Take Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini for example. Speaking before Saturday’s home game against Chelsea he said: “They will probably win the Premier League easily”.