Sir Alex Ferguson's visit to Man Utd base clarified after "disgusted" claim made

Sir Alex Ferguson did not interfere with Manchester United training while visiting the club's Carrington headquarters on Tuesday.

Nor did the Red Devils legend interact with any players or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - despite claims the current manager should be "disgusted" by his predecessor's actions.

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol tore into Ferguson for the "bad timing" of his trip, which came two days after United suffered an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at home to Jurgen Klopp's side.

The former defender, like many fans, interpreted Ferguson's visit as an attempt to get United back on track, likening it to "the teacher coming to remind the pupil what to do".

However, the real reason for Ferguson's presence at Carrington had nothing to do with the team's poor form.

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Sir Alex Ferguson watched Manchester United beaten 5-0 by Liverpool and visited the club's base two days later ( Image:

Sky Sports)

In fact, Ferguson and other club officials were being fitted for new suits and the date had been in the diary for some time.

That is according to BBC Sport, who claim the iconic Scot, 79, did not see Solskjaer or any of the squad during his visit.

This pours cold water on Nicol's claim that Ferguson "diminished" the Norwegian's role with an ill-timed trip.

The European Cup winner also spoke of his concern that Solskjaer is too meek to be United manager during a scathing interview with ESPN earlier this week.

The Red Devils have taken just one point from their last four Premier League games and were eliminated from the Carabao Cup last month.

On the continental stage, they have recovered from defeat by Young Boys to beat Villarreal and Atalanta, but neither Champions League victory was convincing.

United relied on late heroics by Cristiano Ronaldo to win both Group F fixtures after sub-par performances at Old Trafford.

But Nicol suspects Solskjaer does not "get worked up" or give his players the hairdryer treatment - which Ferguson was famous for - after poor displays.

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"The reason Ole is in the position he is is because I don't think Ole actually gets worked up, loses his rag, goes crazy, tells people what they should and shouldn't be doing; because that's what he should be doing now," added Nicol.

"He should be telling Alex and whoever sent Alex down there: 'Excuse me, we don't need you here'."

The latest reports suggest Solskjaer has three games to turn things around or else he will be sacked. He will lead the team against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday before clashes with Atalanta and Manchester City.