Manchester United technical chief Darren Fletcher has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson upset his mother to the point the former manager had to APOLOGISE.

Fletcher recalled when he came close to signing for Newcastle United as a junior.

He told the Lockdown Tactics podcast: "I nearly signed for Newcastle United. I had been going to United from the age of 12 and Newcastle at this point were the second-biggest team (in England).

"Everyone is telling you, 'look at all of these great Man United midfielders you'll never get in the team, difficult to break through, Newcastle is closer to home.'

"So the word gets back to Sir Alex and he phoned the house one night and my sister picked up the phone. 'Here, Darren. It's for you,' It's just the boss going absolutely mental.

"I'm 15, just chalk-white and he's f'ing and giving it to me down the phone. My mum sees me and grabs the phone and listens for a few seconds and goes, 'don't speak to my son like that ever again,' and slams the phone down.

"So the next minute the phone rings up again, it's Sir Alex: 'really sorry, Mrs Fletcher but we really like your son, I'm coming up on the next flight to Edinburgh.'

"My mum's looking around the house thinking, 'I've not done the housework, I've got loads of washing'. She goes, 'No you're not, they'll come down and see you'."

After choosing to commit to Ferguson's Man United, he became a regular in the reserve team in the 2002-03 season before breaking into the first-team the following season.