Things change, although I believe that certain principles - of attacking, entertaining football - should always be protected.

My view is that the signing of players should be a simple process. The chief scout identifies them, the manager decides who he wants, and the chief executive is dispatched to do the deal. It really is as simple as that.

There are times in the career of every young English footballer when they simply need to take their chance to establish themselves.

You knew where you stood with Sir Alex Ferguson.

At some point, a young player has to grasp the opportunity and make himself undroppable.

When I go into management, I want to do so with 100 per cent commitment.

There is something about a cup final that brings out a different quality in a footballer. Do they have the courage to win a one-off match?

When it came to playing Arsenal over the last eight years of my career at United, we always went into games against them feeling like we would win - and we usually did.

I like to watch batsmen who will entertain and, as things stand, an opening spell from Jimmy Anderson is about as good as it gets.

When I watch Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund side, I see a manager who is determined to play in his opponent's half, who is committed to attacking football, and, from the way he conducts himself on the touchline, is clearly an interesting, charismatic personality.

A cup final is all about seizing the moment. You cannot put right a mistake or a missed opportunity the following week.

When I started as a pro at United, I played alongside Bryan Robson in the A-team and later in the senior side. With Bryan, it didn't matter what level we were playing or which one of his team-mates got kicked. Within five minutes, you could guarantee that the opponent in question would be in a heap on the floor, courtesy of Bryan.

Let me be clear: I am sick of having to criticise the club which I gave my life to as a footballer.

There were players I shared a dressing room with who didn't like each other. You don't have to talk to each other. You just need to win matches.

When a team is relegated, a new leader can help turn the page at a club.

You buy the right players for the system that you believe will be successful.

If you go down the leagues, you have to understand what level you're working with, and if you get frustrated, then it's not going to ever happen for you. That's why a lot of managers don't succeed where they should do.

Managing a club like Oldham has to be an all-absorbing, seven-days-a-week commitment.

As a player, I loved being tackled, whether it was in training or in a game. I took a full-blooded challenge as an invitation to do exactly the same thing to an opponent. I would wait for my opportunity and nine times out of 10, I would get him back.

I don't go looking for the post-match team pictures posted by players on Instagram, but usually, someone ends up showing them to me, or I notice them when they get printed in the newspapers.

I expect positive play from Manchester United all the time, whether you're at home or away.

There was no better manager at developing young players than Sir Alex. He knew just when to bring them in and take them out, and he believed in Paul Pogba. For once, in Paul's case, it did not work out. The timing was wrong, and the difference between expectation on the player's side and the manager's idea of his development did not match up.

We know Mourinho can win league titles - he is brilliant at it - but how long can he do it at one club?

Peter Schmeichel could make the goal look much smaller when you glanced up to hit a shot.

I am always loath to assign goalkeepers too much importance, but you have to make an exception for the greats.

United are about attacking football, and everything else has to takes its place behind that.

For my whole career, I concentrated on that cycle of games from August to May and being mentally and physically ready.

It goes without saying that no one at United ever expected any help. We understood that decisions can go against you. We believed we were the better team, and therefore, if the referee got his decisions right, then we would win the vast majority of our games.

As players, we were paid to do a job we loved - in my case, at the club I supported. And nothing I did could be allowed to interfere with that. The manager would not have permitted it.

Sometimes fear can bring performances out from you.

What I like about Pochettino is the way that he looks in control. He is in control of his players, in control of the way that they play.

I suppose I should have realised that the very fact I was still playing for United at 38 years old was a sign that there was not enough pressure on us senior players from those coming into the side.

As a young footballer at United, Steve Bruce was one of the senior pros I really admired.

I don't know why anyone would want to be a goalkeeper. It is a hard position to do well.

At United, my United, we had been honed into a ruthless team who played great football but, ultimately, were there to win football matches and league titles. At Newcastle, they could certainly play on their day, and the crowd was formidable, but there was a weakness - a vulnerability that you could seek out.

As a club, there was never any middle ground with Newcastle. They were as high as the sky or in a pit of despair.

I never wanted to lose my place in the United team, much less my place at the club. What went on beyond the pitch was none of my business.

I would never do anything to damage United, whoever the owners might be, and I am sure that no United fan would want me to do that.

Little details about young footballers catch your eye when you have been around a big club for a long time. At first, it can be minor things, like the way certain young players stand out from the group when the academy lads cross paths with the senior team on their way to training in the morning.

At first sight, Pogba was notable for his size and physicality, and when you got to know him, there was also a confidence about him.

At United, we like to have wingers who give the team width and pace.

I do wonder whether the bigger the game is, the more the risks that David Luiz decides to take.

You have to be careful when you time a move to one of the biggest clubs. Occasionally, these young players do not realise what a good thing they are on to when they know that they will be playing every week.

In my years at United, I witnessed some signings who, over their careers, transformed the fortunes of the team. From Eric Cantona, when I was an apprentice, to Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Wayne Rooney. These were great footballers who became great United players.

All good players need to be appreciated.

The first time I retired, only Sir Alex Ferguson and I knew that the last league game of the 2010-11 season against Blackpool was to be my final game at Old Trafford. I was a little bit sad, but I am not one for tears. The end of a career comes to us all, and there is not a lot you can do about that.

The end of a career comes to us all, and there is not a lot you can do about that.

We played 63 games in the treble-winning season of 1999, and I cannot remember feeling tired once. We won the league title with the last game of the season, and along the way, we knew that in any game we could miss out on this chance of a lifetime to win all three. We had 22 players who were ready to be called on at any moment.

Let me tell you what it is like playing against Messi. You are up against a footballer who can take the ball either side of you, and you have no idea which side that might be from any hint about his body-shape.

My view is that you show Messi one side or the other, and if he goes past you, he goes past you. But if he slips it through your legs, then you have to obstruct him and take the foul. Just don't ever let yourself be nutmegged.