MK Dons boss Paul Ince admits his downfall at Blackburn Rovers may've been due to him being too soft with his players.
Contrary to his know-all image, however, he can now admit to having made mistakes at Blackburn. One in particular would surprise those who shared dressing rooms in which he liked to be in charge. And it was his old Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson who identified the problem.
"When things were going wrong we sat down and had a chat," Ince recalled. "He told me not to let players get away with anything.
"I am not saying I was lenient with the Blackburn players - because I am not that way inclined - but maybe I thought this was the Premier League, this was massive, there were massive players there and maybe I was not as tough as I should have been.
"I am not saying I was soft. I felt that compared to what I had been at Macclesfield or MK Dons I had to change because it was the Premier League. But I didn't need to. I just needed to be me and I wasn't. Maybe I was trying to adapt to the Premier League when I should have been saying: "I am what I am and you take me for what I am". I did not take that approach at Blackburn."
