'It shows his class' - Tom Cleverley reveals Sir Alex Ferguson phone call as ex-Man United man named Watford boss

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has been placed in caretaker charge of Watford after they sacked boss Valerien Ismael following a run of only one win in 10 league games.

Cleverley, 34, had been coaching their under-18 side after his retirement from playing last year. He has been named as interim head coach and Watford say staff will be "confirmed in due course".

Cleverley, capped 13 times by England, ended his playing career with Watford, having joined from Everton in 2017. He won the Premier League title with United in 2013 and was part of the Hornets team who reached the FA Cup final in 2019. READ MORE: United player ratings vs Everton as duo impress READ MORE: Why United changed penalty taker during the win vs Everton Having begun his coaching badges when he returned to Vicarage Road six years ago, he was ready to step into coaching and credits the role with keeping him going after retirement.

And he revealed once he made that switch, his old United mentor Sir Alex Ferguson was straight on the phone. "It shows the class that he has," he told the Manchester Evening News back in November. "He was just checking up on me at first and then offering me advice, from a coaching perspective on a couple of things, which I think is how I like to coach, I don't like to overwhelm people with information but he gave me a couple of punchy tips.