Tom Cleverley discloses that Sir Alex Ferguson called the former Manchester United player who is now the manager of Watford. “It shows his class,” Cleverley says

Cleverley is taking over as Watford’s temporary head coach, and Sir Alex Ferguson has provided him with some excellent advise.

Tom Cleverley, a former midfielder for Manchester United, has been appointed as the caretaker manager of Watford. This comes after the club fired Valerien Ismael as manager after a string of only one win in ten league games.

After retiring from playing a year ago, Cleverley, who is now 34 years old, had been responsible for coaching their under-18 team. According to Watford, the staff would be “confirmed in due course” after he was appointed as the interim head coach.

Following his departure from Everton in 2017, Cleverley finished his playing career at Watford. He was a member of England’s national team thirteen times. In 2013, he was a member of the United side that won the Premier League title, and in 2019, he was a member of the Hornets club that made it all the way to the FA Cup final.

When he returned to Vicarage Road six years ago, he had already began his coaching badges. He was prepared to take on the position of a coach, and he attributes his continued success in the role to the fact that it kept him going when he retired. Additionally, he disclosed that when he made that change, his former United coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, immediately began speaking with him on the phone.

During the month of November, he stated to the Manchester Evening News, “It demonstrates the class that he possesses.” “At first, he was just checking up on me, and then he offered me some guidance, from a coaching viewpoint, on a number of things. I believe that this is how I prefer to coach, since I don’t like to overwhelm people with information, but he did give me a couple of pointers that were really helpful. I make an effort to put them into practice on a regular basis.

“It was when I came back to Watford really in about 2017 I realised the lack of direction some young players have and I was passionate about giving them a bit of direction and advice,” he explained to reporters.

“It wasn’t until I moved back to the south that I truly became passionate about working to better both the athletes and the people I worked with. So it was the point at which the voyage began.

As a school, we seek to achieve the standards that are so ingrained in the culture that they become second nature at United. The administration of my academy is comprised of very capable individuals who share my beliefs. At Forest, Jimmy Gilligan and Warren Joyce were known to have a tight working relationship. Since I started getting involved in this aspect of things, I had a brief conversation with Paul McGuinness.

I had a diverse range of managers to choose from. I’ll take a lot from some of them, some I’ll take a tiny bit from, and some I won’t take anything from at all. Really, I’ve been really fortunate, and obviously, Sir Alex, I believed Marco Silva was the best in the business. Nigel Pearson and Javi Gracia, regardless of whether one would carry out excellent training sessions, whether one would communicate clearly, whether one would exude an incredible aura, and whether one was a fantastic man manager. There is a little amount that I take from each of those.

Previously the manager of West Brom, Ismael joined Watford in May of 2023. Due to the departure of the 47-year-old, the club is currently in the process of searching for their eleventh head coach since the year 2018, and their eighth since the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

Cleverley’s promotion came much sooner in his career than he had anticipated. In November, the former United player commented that he had hoped to spend a couple of years playing at the academy before transitioning into a first-team environment. Cleverley’s promotion came much sooner than he had anticipated.

“The long, long-term goal would be to be a Premier League manager and I understand that doesn’t just happen overnight, and there’s a lot of work that needs putting into it, but I think the work ethic I have and the career as a player, and the experiences that have come with that, I’m in a decent position,” he explained to reporters.

“Short-term, I’m loving what I do, I’m learning every day and I’m passionate about improving these young players.”