"When I first met him I was frightened, frightened to death actually. I still am," he said.
"When you are a kid you hear about the fiery side of him and when you meet him that is all you think about.
"He has definitely mellowed since those early days but if he is not happy about something, he will still let you know. I have not had a 'hair dryer' for a while, but that means there is probably one just around the corner."
However he is grateful for all he has done for him.
"He made me what I am today," he said.
"There is only so much any manager can do, the rest is up to the players. He cannot kick the ball for you.
"But what he did was give us confidence by trusting us.
"Everyone remembers the famous Alan Hansen quote about not winning anything with kids. That came after a defeat at Aston Villa on the opening day of the season.
"But those comments just made the manager even more determined to stick with us. He retained his faith and kept picking us, which was a big risk at a club the size of United. Thankfully, we managed to repay him."