Sir Alex Ferguson was a big fan of the Cork man calling Denis Irwin ‘Mr. Constant’ and one of the best to play the game in his position and a pivotal part in the Manchester eleven. A team that won a historic treble in 1999 a feat that is yet to be replicated by anyone in the English game.
“People ask you who is your best Man United team. It is absolutely impossible,” Ferguson said in 2013.
“You look at the strikers I had, going back to (Brian) McClair, (Mark) Hughes, (Andy) Cole, (Eric) Cantona, (Ruud) van Nistelrooy, (Louis) Saha, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, (Dwight) Yorke, Teddy Sheringham.
“Then to the present players, Wayne Rooney, (Robin) van Persie, Chicharito (Xavier Hernandez). How do you pick out of that? Cantona and somebody else?
“The midfield was probably a bit easier because you have (Roy) Keane, (Bryan) Robson and (Paul) Scholes, they were fantastic players and (David) Beckham, (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Ryan) Giggs.
“But honestly, I would say Denis Irwin would be the one certainty to get in the team. I called him an eight out of 10.”
The Cork man was talking to Four Four Two and explained why Sir Alex Ferguson had so much time for the Cork man.
“I went in and just got about my job. I wasn’t a star player, but Fergie still appreciated me,” Irwin told FourFourTwo.
“I didn’t cause him too much stress. My peers appreciated what I did, too. Maybe to the fan in the street I didn’t make headlines because I wasn’t a star player, but I didn’t want the limelight.
“I worked my socks off, trained hard and tried to learn from mistakes. Gary Neville was the same as me. Full-backs were pawns on a chessboard when I played.
“They’re more important now in the game. We had Giggsy or Becks in front of our full-backs to cross the ball. Twenty years ago, if one full-back went forward, the other stayed back. Now, both go forward in the top teams.”