Manchester United Treble winner Denis Irwin says Sir Alex Ferguson could handle today's football.

Irwin, a left-back under Ferguson for half of his reign, believes his old manager is still up to task.

“You've got to be able to handle the pressure of playing for Manchester United as a player, and as a manager you've got to handle all these players differently," Irwin told Sporting Life.

“They're almost like rock stars these days. But Sir Alex would be fine, he'd be brilliant.

“People always ask me about all the old players and would they be able to play in this modern day, but all the great players could play in today's era.

“A lot of the guys I played with, but even before my time with the likes of George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton, they'd be brilliant in today's football.

"Sir Alex, although he was an old fashioned manager in some ways he was also a forward-thinking manager.

“He brought all the sports science guys in and always surrounded himself with great coaches, so he was before his time and he'd be a fantastic manager now."