"Despicable," is the word Ferguson reaches for first when the discussion topic is religious bigotry and his attitude has been reflected in his dealings with both the north and south of Ireland. He has championed the Milk Cup, the youth tournament held every summer on the Antrim coast, and plans to do "something special" for this summer's competition, while his admiration for the United fans who travel from the west every week is undisguised. "The Mayo, Sligo and Donegal branches," he said incredulously, "you see the trek they make."
Ferguson's fondness for the Irish and, of course, for the horses has led him into the company of men like J P McManus, a seriously interesting connection when stories of McManus's interest in buying into United circulated last July. Little has been heard of such a deal since Martin Edwards sold a slice of his shareholding to the City of London and it would appear that the ambition of Irish ownership of Old Trafford dissolved that day. "I'm not sure," Ferguson said, "although I know J P, Dermot Desmond and John Magnier well, they are not always going to discuss their business with me.
"But I was quite enthused by it because if someone's going to buy it you want people who would be good ambassadors for it. They'd love Manchester United to do well and that's encouraging, they have a positive attitude and want Man United to be the best in the world. Obviously it didn't work. With Martin Edwards selling his six per cent to the institutions, it does make it a bit more difficult, doesn't it?"
Ah, Martin Edwards. The chairman at Old Trafford and his manager seemed to meet a fork in the road a couple of years ago and ultimately the divergence will see Ferguson leave the club in 30 months when his present contract expires. At least this is one plan - Edwards's - and it looks to have scuppered Ferguson's desire to stay at United after vacating the manager's chair. Given that United and Edwards's prosperity is a result of Ferguson and his players' achievements in the recent past, it would be entirely understandable should Ferguson feel aggrieved about his prospects in the near future. He says he is not.
"I am not in control of these things. Martin Edwards has made it clear, so I don't worry. It doesn't really upset me, that's the way life is. But I'll remain active in the game, I could take consultancy work, things like that. Why Martin Edwards says that I'll never know anyway. It's two and a half years away, there is no point in talking about these things. That's obviously his wish, but we'll see.
"The Matt Busby syndrome is obviously what Martin Edwards is talking about, but you have to try and understand the eras in which both of us work. To be honest, I think any manager who worked in the time of Matt and Bill Shankly had it far easier than the managers of our time because of the media and television and things like that."
Ferguson's mention of the Matt Busby syndrome is a reference to the late 1960s and early '70s when the great United patriarch `moved upstairs' only to find his backlit golden glow cast a long cold shadow over his immediate two successors, Wilf McGuinness and Frank O'Farrell. In such an intimidating climate McGuinness's hair fell out never to return.
For Edwards to be wary of a repeat were Ferguson to retain an office at Old Trafford - and an opinion of his successor's efforts - does not feel outrageous. If indeed that is Edwards' primary objection to Ferguson staying, and there is no alternative personality agenda, it is in fact a cackhanded backhanded compliment to Ferguson. How is the man to be followed?
Just over a year ago the vast majority of punters would have had an easy two-word answer: Brian Kidd. Edwards may well have had the same short solution. After all Kidd had been essential to the United success. But Kidd went to Blackburn Rovers 13 months ago and it was not until the publication of Ferguson's book that we were given an insight into why Kidd had chosen to go. Ferguson slaughtered Kidd for it. Disloyalty was the charge. We still do not know all the details.
Even tentatively broaching the subject of Kidd's departure from Old Trafford felt reckless, but Ferguson did not convulse. "When we decided to do the autobiography, (Hugh) McIlvanney said that you've got to write the truth and put in context incidents that were influential or decisive in my managerial career. And yes, when you go through a life of 25 years as a manager there are going to be some players who disappoint you. People quite often think of managers as unbreakable but they're not, they are just as vulnerable as everyone else. You do get disappointed with certain players because, basically, you do everything for them. You don't expect anything back. You do it for your job and you want everything to be right so they perform for you.
"In the case of Brian Kidd, basically, it was an experience from the summer before last that had to be told. It was the saddest part of my life here, no question of that. It wasn't a good time for me. Loyalty is the anchor of everyone's life, believe me. True people have to depend on loyalty from their friends. It's only friends that carry your coffin. Anyone reading that book knows what loyalty means to me. My trade union background gave me that.
"A lot of people worry about their job, understandably. But there has to be a point where principle overrides everything. It was unfortunate the way it transpired."
Earlier in the conversation Ferguson admitted that the ferocity required to handle such anxiety-soaked situations had forced him to manufacture a protective outer shell. Opponents might argue that his Govan upbringing was sufficient in that regard.
"I said to myself that if I'm going to survive I'm going to have to be quite firm. In other words I would not change my principles, and if you don't like it - goodbye. I've tried to keep these disciplines, although you do mellow. My half-time team talks, if they weren't doing well, were always quite volatile. I probably made a conscious decision to make sure I was hard enough to survive, to make sure players didn't ride roughshod over me. I became obsessional more or less but you get to a peak where the obsession is no use. It's energy using up energy. When you mature you start observing more, that's when you become a better manager."
On reflection, were there moments when he had been too hard? "Yeah, at times I was. But it suited the environment I was in at the time, at St Mirren and Aberdeen. Coming to Man United I carried on a bit of Aberdeen for a spell. But then I needed to start thinking - this was different, this was expectation, this was big league, this is the biggest."
It is Alex Ferguson's triumph that he has taken the biggest and made them bigger many times over. And, despite the traditionalists' lack of respect for what is about to unfold in Brazil, another success would emphatically reinforce the notion that United are the biggest club side on the planet. European champions, Premiership champions, the holders of the FA Cup and Intercontinental Cup - Ferguson already has a win yankee up. Thursday begins the search for the ultimate five-timer. Don't bet against the creative aggressor.
