Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to former managerial rival, Kevin Keegan, who passed away earlier this week aged 75.
Ferguson's Man United enjoyed an exciting Premier League title rivalry with Keegan's Newcastle United during the 1990s, culminating in the Scotsman being on the receiving end of Keegan's famous "I will love if we beat them, love it" rant.
Keegan famously made this emotional rant during a Sky Sports interview in April 1996, as the two teams competed for the Premier League title, which was eventually won by Manchester United, despite trailing Newcastle by 12 points in the table in January.
However, in a recent interview with Track Radio, Sir Alex insisted that he had the "utmost respect" for Keegan, as he paid tribute to him.
"I had the utmost respect for him. We had many duels when he was manager of Newcastle, but I have to say the job he did at Newcastle was fantastic", he said.
He continued: "He re-energised that club and he brought that enthusiasm and fanaticism that great supporters can give. That’s the job he did".
"And he also brought three great players to the club – (David) Ginola, (Faustino) Asprilla, Philippe Albert – and added a bit of class to the team, and I must say the challenges we had with Newcastle at that time at United were huge.
"Kevin carried the love of the game on his sleeve, there’s no question about that, and that carried right on to the fans, to the players", he added. "That period at Newcastle was of emotion, it was excitement. They brought these great players to the club too and they added to it, and it gave Newcastle – I think – their best ever team".
Despite this, Ferguson stated that Keegan "held no grudges", and revealed that they bumped into each other at a pub near Wentworth Golf Club a few weeks after the season ended, spending the night around a piano and all thoughts of the title race put to one side.
"The great thing about him, he held no grudges. That was a fantastic quality he had and we had a great night", Ferguson said. "All aside whatever happened in previous weeks, that was soon forgotten. I really respected him for that".
Kevin Keegan, who enjoyed a hugely successful career as a player and as a manager, passed away aged 75 earlier this week, having announced that he was diagnosed with stage four cancer back in January.
His death was confirmed by his family who released this statement.
"It is with immense sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75", they said. "Kevin had been battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments".
"A double Ballon d’Or winner, Kevin was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather".
"The family would like to thank Kevin’s incredible medical team for all their support", they added. "This is a hugely difficult time and they are requesting space and privacy".
