'I was a promising Man Utd youngster - Sir Alex Ferguson came to my school just to give me hairdryer'

Nicky Butt has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson once paid him a visit in school to give him the infamous hairdryer treatment.

The legendary Manchester United manager was renowned for subjecting players and officials to his furious rants that became known as the hairdryer. However, former United star Butt has opened up on how he was on the receiving end of one of his tirades when he was just a teenager after Sir Alex found out about his subpar performance in school.

Speaking with ex-United midfielder Paul Scholes on the Football's Greatest Eras podcast, Butt opened up on the event after the duo were discussing just how involved Sir Alex was in their lives as young footballers. The topic began when Scholes revealed that players had to "conform" to what Ferguson wanted and curate their lifestyles accordingly, with both players only teenagers when they were on United's books.

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Butt regained his former team-mate about the time Ferguson clamped down on his misbehaviour in school. The Class of '92 icon also claimed the United boss even threatened to sack him from the club if he didn't improve his scholastic performance.

“I remember in school, I was a bit of a jack the lad at school. I was walking in late. I remember seeing an S class (Mercedes) parked outside the entrance. So there's the staff entrance and the school entrance, and if you're late, you have to go in the staff entrance and sign into the late car. So I was walking in late, I saw this lovely brand new S class," Butt said.

"I would have been 14, 15, maybe. Walked in, there was a reception and they said, 'Oh, head Mr. Embassy wants you'. So I had to go to his office. So I walk in thinking, 'I'm only late, I've got to sign in late and I'll be fine'. Sir Alex was sat in the office with the teacher and he came at me like you wouldn't believe.

"'If you don't listen to this man, I'll make sure you do what's right by him. Do what's right, you won't play for this football club, you won't get in.' I was like that (stunned)."

However, despite the verbal assault from Ferguson leaving him shaken, Butt confessed that the stern telling-off worked a treat. He also praised Ferguson's compassion, which he said could be handed out alongside his notorious rants in equal measure.

“But he was right, because what it was, any sign of you getting carried away, he was on you like a ton of bricks," he said. "But equally, anytime he's seeing you down or having some personal issues, he was there to speak to you. He was always there if there was any issues at home or anything, he'd always come and see me and he was always caring that way as well.”

Scholes also explained how during one early period of his life Ferguson orchestrated calls to him and his dad in a bid to stop him from indulging in Manchester's nightlife.

Scholes insisted that the pressure from Ferguson to stop socialising after hours eventually worked. The 49-year-old maintained it was the right thing to do for the good of his career, even if it meant sacrificing long-term friendships.

"I had to get out of it because I was going out in Middleton all the time and he got wind of that," he said. "Eric Harrison (youth team coach) got wind of that and he gave several phone calls to him and my dad, he said 'look he's got to, not calm down, but he's got to stop living like that, and from 18 I moved away, never saw mates again. It was something you had to do if you wanted to take your professional life seriously."