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PREMIER LEAGUE - Paul Ince “nearly died – it was bloody brilliant” at United away day

Sir Alex Ferguson Ferguson once used the SAS to scare players Ryan Giggs and Paul Ince during an intense Manchester United away day in the early 1990s.

Ince and Cantona
Ince and Cantona


As part of a new documentary it is has emerged Sir Alex Ferguson once took his Manchester United to the SAS for a night for a team building excerise.

In a one-off BBC programme, Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success, the United great and Giggs recall an incident in Hereford when Ince had a gun pointed at his head.

"Years ago I took the team down there for a day and they stayed overnight," Ferguson told the Manchester Evening News,

"They loved it, the players loved it. I always remember they took us into the hostage room, and they put four players with their heads down on the table.

"And the rest of the players were behind a rope, and all of a sudden a smoke bomb comes in, everything goes dark, and within seconds 'bang, bang, bang bang.'

"And one of the soldiers had a gun against Paul Ince's head!

"Incey, I tell you, he went 'Aaaarrrrggghh!' He nearly died. It was brilliant."

Paul Ince, le patron du Nord
Paul Ince, le patron du Nord

Giggs added: "They just pulled me and Paul Ince out, and these cardboard cutouts and where the hostage is. The cardboard cutouts are the people holding us hostage, so we were just sat there at the table.

"Next minute, the lights go off. We just heard 'Get down! Get down!' We instantly did.

"And right next to us were four or five soldiers, SAS gear, night goggles. It was a great experience and one we never forgot."

Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success will be on BBC1 at 10.30pm on Sunday 11 Octobe.