Sir Alex Ferguson claims "player ego and player power" are the
biggest problems facing managers today.
The Manchester United boss has not hesitated to act in the past
when he feels players have got above themselves - as David Beckham
and Roy Keane both discovered to their cost.
Ferguson believes that with the pressure of results always on them,
managers must maintain rigid discipline with the players.
Asked in an interview with UEFA's The Technician magazine about the
biggest challenges facing coaches, Ferguson said: "There is a
player ego that you have to deal with. As a coach the one thing you
must have is control. "You can't afford to let players take charge
of a training session, there has to be a strong discipline in the
training and in general.
"Simple rules must apply such as time-keeping and concentration at
training. "More and more we are dealing with player power. I grew
into all of that but a young coach must realise that he is walking
straight into all of that. "They have to find a way of navigating
all of these pressures.
"Another thing of course is the pressure of results. When I came
into the game the media demands were less than we have today, and
there were no agents or freedom of contract back then.
"Also, if you have a good chairman and board you are lucky, if not
then you have to handle that situation as well."