Keegan assistant: SAF mind games were ‘a load of cr*p’

Matt Stead

Terry McDermott has rubbished claims that Alex Ferguson guided Manchester United to the 1995/96 Premier League title through his infamous ‘mind games’.

United won their third Premier League title of a possible four in the 1995/96 campaign, overhauling a Newcastle side led by Kevin Keegan.

The Magpies led the table by 12 points by mid-January, but contrived to win just five of their last 13 games, handing the title to United and Ferguson in the process.

Many attribute the Newcastle collapse to Ferguson’s ‘mind games’, with the Scot criticising the players of Leeds, who would face and almost beat the Magpies in their next fixture.

Keegan’s reaction is part of footballing folklore, with the manager declaring that he “would love it” if Newcastle pipped United to the title. You can – and should – read the whole story surrounding the quote.

McDermott, a Liverpool legend who was Keegan’s assistant at the time, denies that the spat had a role to play by the end of the season.

“We were laughing about it. He knew what he was doing, Kevin. He’s no one’s fool, believe me,” McDermott told Irish station RTE.

“He did have a pop and he was a little bit riled but he came on the coach and he was fine.

“People make it a lot more than what it was. Fergie mind games? That’s a load of cr*p.