Reading boss Jaap Stam has credited former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for teaching him how to build a team.

The former United centre-back claims that Ferguson didn't need big names to create title-winning teams during his savagely successful spell at United.

"What I learned from Ferguson was how to build a team," Stam told The Guardian.

"As a manager, you need to have your own vision and what you want to do with the team. You need to have certain players with certain qualities in your team, to create your own style of play and I think Fergie was very good at that.

"Ferguson did not look at names because you see a lot of managers buy big names because they think if they get this player then because he's already a name he will perform for me.

"Ferguson was the type of manager that looked at the qualities of a player he needs in a certain position at a time and he was world-class at that. I think it brought him a lot of trophies at the time."