Former Manchester United star Nani says Sir Alex Ferguson had no issues with his players enjoying themselves over Christmas.

The Portuguese winger says his former boss had such good man management skills he allowed it to slide if his players showed up worse-for-wear in the hectic Christmas and New Year programme.

Nani revealed that no-nonsense Fergie recognised the demands over that time were so tough it was important for his United squad to let their hair down.

Speaking to Tribuna Expresso, he said: "If I had the next day off, for example, then I could have some fun...on special days like Christmas or New Year – no one in England cares about that.

"On New Year, we could even go to training drunk and the coach didn't care about it.

"That's the side of [Sir Alex] that knew how to deal with the players and have the perception to say, 'this day is special, I can't make demands'.

"We had been playing non-stop all year long. It was a joy, a moment of relaxation, a different kind of training – clowning around. I won't lie, I liked nights out."