RIP Cathy Ferguson: The anchor behind Sir Alex and Manchester United's long success

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, lost his wife, Lady Cathy, last week aged 84, the woman he described as his 'tower of strength.'

Sir Alex and Lady Cathy were married for nearly 60 years and met in Scotland, with Cathy being a catholic and supporting Celtic and Sir Alex being protestant and supporting Rangers.

Since they met in Scotland all those years ago, Lady Cathy has provided the pillar to the long success of Sir Alex Ferguson and his Manchester United teams, thanks to the support and stability she offered.

According to dailymail.co.uk, speaking after his retirement in 2013, Sir Alex said: "My wife Cathy has been the key figure throughout my career, providing a bedrock of both stability and encouragement. Words are not enough to express what this has meant to me."

Sir Alex was one of the most intimidating managers in the history of the game and was renowned for his 'hairdryer treatment,' but he never answered back to Lady Cathy.

His strong wife to go home to every night kept Sir Alex humble and calm despite the constant battle of elite-level sports.

In his time as a manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson won 25 major trophies, according to nationalfootballmuseum.com.

If it wasn't for Lady Cathy, Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't have won nearly half of those 25 major trophies.

In 2002, Sir Alex Ferguson was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, coming off a loss to the title and considering a retirement from the game.

Sir Alex would have retired If it wasn't for Cathy, with Ferguson writing in his autobiography that Cathy said: "One, your health is good. Two, I'm not having you in the house. And three, you're too young anyway."

Her talk that Sir Alex remembers so poignantly led to eleven more years at the helm of the club, with even more success to follow.

Between 2002 and 2013, Sir Alex and his Manchester United team won six Premier League titles to make it 13 total under his stewardship and added his second and final Champions League trophy.

The success he acquired in those extra pivotal years was important in his legacy and that of Manchester United, as they overtook Liverpool in most league titles won (20).

In total, post-2002, Manchester United and Sir Alex won 11 major trophies, not including the five FA Community Shields.

In his final season in 2013, Sir Alex finished his career with a Premier League title, meaning 44% of the trophies he won in his career were won after Cathy told him to stay on.

According to The Irish News, Ferguson said: "When I told her this time, I was going to retire, she had no objection whatsoever. I knew she wanted me to do it."