Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre recalls Sir Alex Ferguson 'hairdryer' moment

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has recalled two terrifying moments when he found himself subjected to Sir Alex Ferguson's infamous hairdryer treatment. Silvestre played 361 games across nine years at Old Trafford and collected an impressive medal haul in the process.

Signing from Italian outfit Inter Milan in 1999, the Frenchman won four Premier League titles and in his last season the club got their hands on another Champions League trophy. However, those successes under Ferguson were not without a couple of scary moments.

Speaking on the UTD podcast, Silvestre recalled a couple of occasions when the Ferguson let loose. A pre-warning came when Silvestre did his best to keep up with modern trends.

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He said: "[As a player] Your performance and your private life is exposed, so it would have been tough [playing in the social media era]. But the fact I was settled with my wife [helped] - and the manager was a good policeman in that respect. In a good way.

"I use this word because at my time we just started the players to have our own websites. I was tempted so I did. Someone was running a page for me.

"In the beginning, we would do interviews after every game. On the phone, someone would write down and then we'd post it on the website the day after, probably. But then it started being picked up by the tabloids - you know the papers - and when it was translated the boss could read it.

"With some of them, he wasn't happy at all. You know, when you say 'I don't think we performed well'. He thought that only he could say that."

Silvestre added: "So for me, it was my interview on my website and then it was on the back page