Ferguson's Man Utd hierarchy and four players who were given "special treatment"

Managers make a point of keeping things fair when it comes to handling players.

A boss cannot be seen to have favourites in the dressing room as it risks disrupting unity within the ranks.

Some managers are known to take a hard line, and in football, perhaps no one took a harder one than Sir Alex Ferguson.

But according to his former player at Manchester United, Dimitar Berbatov, the fiery Scot wasn't always tough on everyone in equal measure - although the Bulgarian explains there was a good reason for this, and everyone respected it.

During Berbatov's time at Old Trafford, he observed four individuals who were given "special treatment" on the basis Ferguson could trust them all to work hard in training and produce on matchday.

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"The hierarchy in football, it's always there with the players," Berbatov told Mirror Football.

"It doesn't matter when anyone tells you. When you are a star in a football team and you deserve to be one, of course, from time to time you will have special treatment from the manager.

"I remember Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville when we used to train, they trained a bit differently so they could save themselves for the games, and there is nothing wrong with that. This is normal in football.

"When you are a great football player sometimes the manager is going to give you more special attention. As long as you help the team win the game, this is normal in football.

"Sir Alex was very good at making a point to speak to everyone individually, so you didn't feel left out. Even if you didn't play he would know how to speak with you.

"So it was the same with Cristiano Ronaldo, and in the end, we saw the results."