Football
Arindam Rej, Man United Correspondent 7y

Reading boss Jaap Stam hopes to speak to Sir Alex Ferguson at cup tie

Jaap Stam has told the Daily Mail he has not heard from Sir Alex Ferguson since becoming Reading manager but hopes to speak to him when his side travel to Manchester United in the FA Cup.

Stam, who played for United between 1998 and 2001, takes his high-flying Championship team to Old Trafford for a third-round clash next month.

The Dutchman was sold by Ferguson after writing a controversial autobiography, a decision the former manager later said he regretted.

"I haven't heard from Sir Alex since I came here but I do think it would be nice to talk to him," Stam said.

"Now, as a manager, I think of the way he spoke to the group, how he affected the team at certain moments."

Discussing his move from United to Lazio, he said: "I was enjoying myself at United. I had signed a new contract the season before. I had no intention of moving. Everyone knows how it went.

"I still think I had my best spell in football at Lazio and then Milan, because you get to a certain age and you know everything you need to do in every situation."

Stam has followed in the footsteps of many players from the Ferguson era in becoming a manager, but said being a top player was no guarantee of managerial success.

"You have certain players who talk a lot but are they saying the right things? Just because someone has a certain presence, it doesn't mean he will be a great manager," he added.

"Being a manager is totally different to being a player and shouting in the dressing room."

He said he believed former teammate Roy Keane, currently the Republic of Ireland assistant boss, "can be a great manager."

Stam revealed he had not initially been attracted to the idea of going into management.

"I saw what the job could do to people. I saw how managers reacted stress-wise to certain situations and I didn't like it," he said.

"But when I retired, my first professional club Zwolle called me to help two days a week. Then it grew on me.

"You see how players improve. Being a player is the best thing, but being a manager is quite nice as well."

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