I always invite the visiting manager into my office for a drink and a chat after a home game.

It’s a valued tradition as far as I and most managers are concerned, a chance to have a private conversation and wind down.

Which is why I was surprised and, yes, disappointed, that there was no such invitation following our match at Old Trafford last weekend.

When all was done and dusted after the match, I went to where Sir Alex Ferguson was invariably waiting with a glass of wine — and everything had changed. I think the room is now used for analysis.

I was told it didn’t happen any more, so I said “fair enough” and left.

Louis van Gaal has every right to do things his way now, he’s the manager of Manchester United, but it struck a discordant note with me all the same.

I don’t imagine there’ll be any such problems when I meet up with Harry Redknapp after Sunday’s game.

QPR came up in a similar way to ourselves — via the play-offs and thanks to a late goal — and the trick now is to stay up. It’s a tough challenge for Harry and his staff to deal with this season.

What’s my advice to Harry? I wouldn’t presume to offer any, to be honest. Not many managers have more experience than him — he will know exactly what is required if QPR are to remain in the Premier League.

In our first season, we knew the chances were we wouldn’t score enough goals so the priority was to keep clean sheets. We had to concentrate on defensive stability. It’s not that different at the top. Yes, you will have better offensive players who will score you more goals but if you want to win the title or the Champions League, you need to defend well as a team. Our secret in that first season back was our good start — 14 points from the first eight games. I recall telling the players after that eighth game we were 70 per cent certain of staying up.

Some of them looked at me as if I was potty but, as I explained, if and when we had a dip, we wouldn’t slip into the bottom four and, because of that, we wouldn’t have the same amount of pressure on us and would be able to turn it around quicker, which is exactly what happened.

We also lost only four games at home — and that is equally crucial. I have no truck with those who say, after losing the first game of the season, “never mind, we have another 37 to go”. No, that’s not good enough. Look at last season if you don’t believe me. We didn’t have that cushion of a good start so all the criticism hit us — “we’re rubbish, sack the manager, we shouldn’t have signed this player, that player’s finished.”

The way to avert that pressure is for the players to absorb the information we give them. If they do that and make the majority of right decisions, they will become better footballers.

Players are at the top principally because of their football intelligence. The player who uses that will maximise his ability, compared to someone of a similar skill level, who doesn’t.