Sir Alex Ferguson has lauded the spirit of the Manchester people and insists Manchester United's Europa win will give the city a much needed boost.

Manchester came under attack on Monday night when a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert saw 22 people lose their lives.

United played in an emotional Europa League final two days later, and the former Red Devils manager expressed his pride at the club's resilience in achieving victory over Ajax.

"I think, first of all, Manchester is a city like Glasgow, it is a working class city, we have fantastic people there and they will get together," he told a function celebrating Celtic's 50-year European Cup anniversary.

"They have been through some difficult times in the past with the bombing in the Arndale Centre in 1996 and they recovered from that.

"They will get together because there is a working class ethic about them and there is a great unity now in the city.

"I think United last night gave the city a lift and I think that was what it was about. We are all proud of them, it was a great achievement."