Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he let rip at defender Jonny Evans during their victory over AC Milan this week.

Ferguson was held back by assistant Mike Phelan as he screamed at Evans to 'f****** wake up' after Paul Scholes' lucky equaliser had wiped out Ronaldinho's opener.

After the Fergie hairdryer treatment, United went on to recover from a dreadful half to beat AC Milan 3-2.

But last night the United boss admitted: "I was just giving him a gentle bit of advice!

"Our whole back four were going to get it, but he's unfortunate he was the nearest defender to me. They had to compose themselves, that was the most important thing. After that, they settled and got very composed and got back to their normal game.

"The result was very different because of that."