Former Manchester United fitness coach Mike Clegg says Anderson's party instincts worked against his career.

Clegg, who spent four years from 2007 working with Anderson, has provided an insight into what the issues were.

He told The Athletic: “Anderson was one. You could never find a nicer person, he was popular with everyone but he was a lazy bleeder.

“He always had his excuses. I used to have a stick and I said to Alex Ferguson very early on, if he carries on, I'm going to hit him with my bleeding stick.

“Fergie couldn't believe it. 'Don't you dare. He cost me a lot of money. You can't be hitting one of my players, are you mad?'

“Then, six weeks later, Fergie came to find me. 'Where's that bloody stick? Give me that stick. I want to hit him'."

Clegg added: “Anderson was more than capable of being an absolute stormer of a player. He just needed his head knocking. He didn't keep fit.

“He chose not to put in the work, so it's hard to have too much sympathy for him. He was a party animal."