Q. Was it hard to deal with that second group once the money came in?

A. You say: “Look, let’s be reasonable. You maybe could earn something better away from United, but will you win anything? Do you enjoy being here? Is this the right club for you?” Because apart from the prospect of winning, you’ve also got to look to the training ground, the family spirit. These are important issues, things you have to look forward to going to the workplace every day. Good people working with you. Treated the right way. So I think there’s a lot of value for anyone being at United. So when it comes to the negotiation, obviously with their agent, if he’s stupid, he probably wants to leave. But if he’s sensible and we can come to a reasonable agreement, then we can sign a new contract and he’s enjoying himself.

Q. You’ve said you always learned more from failure. Why? You didn’t experience a whole lot of it.

A. I had enough. I was better after a defeat. I had a certain purpose about me and a desire to make sure it didn’t happen often. For instance, if you look at our record in the Premier division: We won it 13 times, but five other occasions we were second, and the following year we won it. In other words, the character of the club, the character we built in that dressing room, made sure that they understood what losing meant. They didn’t enjoy it. Neither did I. So we did something about it.

Q. There was a time early in your career at United when the fans wanted you fired and there was talk it would happen. Could the Manchester United of today — or any another club of that stature — have stuck with you through those days in this era?

A. They can, if the people who run the club believe in the coach’s conviction, and the path he is taking them down. But you need a strong trust in the owners to back the manager in bad times, because the press are playing their part, even fans can play their part, and a lot of club directors could not withstand that.

Q. You’ve just written a book about leadership. What do you think about the job FIFA is doing running the game you’ve devoted your life to?