Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says he never feared the sack in the early days of his career at Old Trafford.

Ferguson spoke of his first years at United in Qatar yesterday.

He said: "I was always aware of the history. Matt Busby had a vision of taking United into Europe and producing young players in a conveyor-belt system.

"They won something like five FA Youth Cups in a row with players who all became famous.

"There's no doubt that, if it hadn't been for the Munich air disaster, the success would have been phenomenal.

"I don't believe in building a team, I believe in building a club - and that comes from youth.

"People talk about me being one game from the sack but in my first year we were a distant second to Liverpool and I knew I couldn't win the league with that team.

"I was faced with a team who could not accept another challenge.

"I decided enough was enough and got rid of nine or 10 players and brought in five or six who could be the nucleus of a new team."