Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier’s hospitalisation prompts Sir Alex Ferguson to admit their jobs are stressful

Sir alex ferguson – Manchester united coach

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has acknowledged that there is a certain amount of pressure that goes with managing a club in the Premier League.

Only recently, Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier was taken ill and hospitalised for a second time while managing a club in England. The first was in 2001 during his time as Liverpool boss, when he complained of chest pains at half-time during a game against Leeds United.

The Frenchman had to undergo emergency heart surgery that kept him out of the game for a significant period of time.

In the wake of Houllier’s latest heath scare, the Red Devils’ boss has conceded that pressure comes with the job, but insists that it is how the manager deals with it that makes all the difference.

“Some mornings I wake up with aches and pains and I worry what it is. I sometimes tell my doctor I’ve got a pain here and a pain there and he says, ‘it’s your age, you’re growing old’,” Sir Alex was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail.

“That’s what happens. You hope you can keep your health. Modern nutrition and lifestyle mean people live longer, but it doesn’t guarantee complete health all your life.

“I had a pacemaker put in seven years ago. That was the first indication that your body is not working the same as 20 years ago.

“You have to pay attention to your health when you get older. It doesn’t come without penalties.”

He added: “Sometimes people feel pressure getting an electricity bill. It depends on what state of life you are in and what your conditions in life are. Dealing with stress is always there for everyone in different ways. How you deal with it does make a difference.”