What Sir Alex Ferguson did after Man City 2012 title win to lead Manchester United back to Premier League summit

Sunday, May 13, 2012 is a day no Manchester United fan would be keen to remember. It was the day their fierce rivals and noisy neighbours from the blue half of the city won their first Premier League title.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men did their bit, with Wayne Rooney netting the only goal as they beat Sunderland 1-0. But as the players stood on the pitch at full-time, word started to go around the ground that the worst had happened.

City had to win but were 2-1 down going into the 90th minute and the game looked dead. But Edin Dzeko equalised and Sergio Aguero rounded Taye Taiwo and smashed a winner past Paddy Kenny. Ecstasy at the Etihad, agony for the Reds.

Rene Meulensteen was a first-team coach with United at the time, watching on inside the away dressing room as Ferguson picked up his disconsolate squad. The Dutchman takes up the story from there.

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“End-of-season disappointments can really fester into your system and the 2012 defeat was one that was felt by the whole staff.

“In the moments before the players came back into the dressing room at the Stadium of Light, I can remember thinking that it was our shared responsibility to hide our own disappointment to ensure the players did not feel quite so fatalistic.

“In his post-match address, the boss had transformed our entire mentality as a group, and we were immediately focused on regaining the title. It was something that even our most experienced and successful players hadn’t been through. That was their motivation to go again.

“It’s in moments like this, looking back and putting things into context, when I marvel even more at what the boss was able to achieve over a prolonged period.

“We