Much like Sir Alex Ferguson, in relative terms, Andy Cole suffered a slow start to life at Manchester United.  

If the fans had their way, it would likely have been Stan Collymore who entered the fray at Old Trafford and not Cole back in early 1995. 

The striker joined United from Newcastle for a fee of around £6million. It looked like that British record fee had been misspent by the Red Devils. However, as the saying goes, form is temporary, and class is permanent.  

Cole put his difficult start to life in Manchester behind him and fired in the goals left, right, and centre, reminding supporters of the scoring prowess he was famous for at Newcastle. His form was comparable to the likes of Scotland hero Denis Law, who proceeded him at Old Trafford. 

The England international showed everyone why Sir Alex wanted him in a Reds shirt. He enjoyed great success with the club, lifting several league titles, and of course, was part of the famous Treble winning side of 1999, capped off with Champions League success against Bayern Munich. 

He still holds the record for his five goals in a single game back in ‘95 against Ipswich. The match ended an astonishing 9-0 to United. 

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Cole was best renowned for his strike partnership with Dwight Yorke after the latter joined in 1998. Their combination formed one of the best front two England’s top flight has ever seen. Possessing craft, strength, guile, and most importantly, goal-scoring ability, the duo helped fire United to tremendous success.  

Both players are regarded as bona fide club legends. After all that was achieved, it’s little wonder. Cole won nine trophies during his six years between 1995 and 2001. None of it would’ve been possible without Sir Alex, though, whom the former player describes as the best manager he ever worked for. 

“He had a huge influence on my career,” Cole explained. “I don’t think I’m the first to say that. He was a manager that always got the best out of me. I think it was the way in which he dealt with people. We’re all individuals, we’ve all got our own styles and what we believe we are.  

“He was very good at getting the best out of you as a person. Not just as a manager but as a man too. He would sit down to discuss anything that needed to be discussed.  

“That’s why he was the best manager I played for. Anything away from football, if you had any personal issues, he was the first person to help you try to sort those out.  

“Footballing-wise, he would get the best out of everyone in the team. Yeah, every now and then he would lose the plot, but you appreciated that he just wanted you to be at your best and at the peak of your form. I accepted that. That’s why he was such a good manager. 

“The generations between when I played for United and nowadays have changed. The players have changed. I think playing for Sir Alex, the way he used to manage, I’m not quite sure you could manage that way now. The mentality of players has changed a hell of a lot.  

“When I was growing up playing football, as a manager, you could basically say and do as you wish. You can’t do those things now. I don’t think a lot of players would accept those kinds of things. But it worked for me and others in my generation.  

“He was a fantastic manager who was very good at delegating tasks to people around him.  

“In football, you’ve got to be able to do those things, but you’ve also got to be able to manage personalities as well. I think that’s what really set him apart. We’re all different, we’ve all got different kinds of egos. We all think we’re the best players in the world, so, a manager who can deal with all of those personalities at the top level is just brilliant.” 

United return to Scottish soil for the first time since 2013 next week when they face Olympique Lyonnais in a friendly at Murrayfield. Erik ten Hag’s side will enjoy the run out in the capital before flying out to the United States for the remainder of their pre-season tour. 

Cole has scarce memories of playing north of the border. The 51-year-old featured in a couple of friendly matches in the twilight years of his career, but it appears to be a somewhat regret of his that he never had the chance to strut his stuff in a competitive match in Scotland, particularly at the home of either Celtic or Rangers. Like many from outside of the country, the Old Firm derby is a spectacle Cole would love to witness in the flesh. 

His son, Devante, had plenty of experience in the Premiership, though. The frontman initially enjoyed a decent loan spell in 2019, before becoming a permanent signing at Fir Park a year later.  

In total, he scored 16 goals in 52 appearances for the Steelmen. He then earned a move back to Barnsley, where he’d played earlier in his career. 

“My memories of playing in Scotland are very limited,” Cole conceded. “I’m not as fortunate as some of the guys now who have played in Scotland quite a few times. I think my best opportunities have been watching on TV. Watching the atmosphere of the games.  

“I keep saying to myself that I want to go to Celtic vs Rangers. I’ve been saying for years that I’d love to attend one of those games. 

“I played with Choccy (Brian McClair) for a few years. I got on really well with Chocs. Everything he achieved at Man United, all his goals after moving down from Celtic, was great.  

“I leaned on him a lot when I was at the club. Even now, we still have a laugh and a joke. I know some of the Scottish lads can have different senses of humour. Even my son experienced it during his time in Scotland. He played more times than me in Scotland. 

“He loved his time at Motherwell. He was more fortunate than me because he got to play at Celtic Park and Ibrox in meaningful games. He spoke about the atmosphere and how much he enjoyed the experiences.  

“It was a good opportunity for him to go there, ply his trade, learn a little bit more. The Scottish league is totally different from the Championship. 

“He enjoyed it, although he mentioned to me a few times that it’s a little bit colder than in England. But I did remind him ‘It is Scotland!’” 

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Ten Hag is in the midst of a rebuild at Old Trafford. The Dutchman set about the task of putting United back on the map last season in impressive fashion. A third-placed finish was capped off nicely with a League Cup win. They also reached the FA Cup final, although lost to City. 

Mason Mount is the one and only arrival so far this summer. More will follow though, with Andre Onana heavily linked to fulfil the No.1 spot vacated by David de Gea. Ten Hag has worked with the goalkeeper before, so a move for the Inter first choice seems a sensible option.  

There is also the small matter of recruiting a new striker. This area has been a problem position for United basically since Sir Alex left and the downfall of the club in recent times commenced. Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst are just two of the unusual recruits during that time, among others. 

Cole has called on the club he loves to go after the best in class in every player they sign. However, he’s urged the powers that be to ensure they’re focussing on building for the future. 

He said: “They need to look at a striker as well as the goalkeeping situation. We always speak about the spine of your team. You need a good goalkeeper, centre-half, central midfielder, and a centre-forward. 

“I think the two positions the manager is trying to fill this summer are pretty clear. We just need to wait and see what happens in the weeks ahead before the window closes. Ultimately, he needs to make United better than they were last season. 

“It’s always tough to try and replace a goalkeeper of De Gea’s ilk. People can talk about mistakes, we all make mistakes, though. I genuinely still believe that his time at United was unbelievable. He kept United in games and collected points for United himself, he played that well.  

“Whoever they bring in, it’s a difficult position. United have a history of good keepers. We had Peter Schmeichel, then Edwin (van der Sar), and David from there. 

“They need to go for the best, but the best always comes at a price. Whoever they do bring in, they do need to try and build for the future now. For this position, we’ve had many years of bringing in older centre-forwards for around two years. I think Robin (van Persie) kind of started that trend. Although, after that, they’ve never really replaced him.  

“They need someone younger who can play for around the next ten years. Whoever they go for, it’s got to be part of a long-term project now.”

See Manchester United live in Scotland as they face Olympique Lyonnais at Edinburgh’s BT Murrayfield Stadium on Wednesday, 19 July, KO 2pm. Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.