Atkinson recalled in the interview that the 1985-86 season 40 years ago, when Manchester United, who he coached, started a 10-game winning streak, remained unbeaten until November 1, with 41 points, only 1 point less than Manchester United's Premier League points last season. In response, Atkinson said: "To be honest, it's really lucky that Amorin's team was relegated. I was relegated to 43 points when I coached on Wednesday."
Atkinson also talked about the fact that the game was not broadcast for four months due to the broadcast rights dispute that season: "There was no TV broadcast at that time, which was very interesting because there were rumors that we played very well in every game and beat our opponents to a loss. In fact, it was not. Yes, we did have some big wins, such as Villa 4-0, but more often we relied on hard work rather than technically winning 1-0. In fact, we were lucky to win 10 games."
However, after entering November, Manchester United fell into a downturn and finally finished fourth in that season, far behind the champion Liverpool. At the time, many people attributed the cause to a series of injuries, but Atkinson said: "I don't blame the injury, everyone gets hurt, it's part of football. But we lost Robson, lost Olson, and even Albieston was injured for a while, and he almost never got hurt. Ironically, Robson was injured while playing for England. Just like Kopel a few years ago, he never got hurt while playing for Manchester United, but he got hurt when playing for England."
Regarding rumors of discipline issues within Manchester United, Atkinson said: "People say my Manchester United has a culture of alcoholism, Let me tell you, they can’t drink Liverpool or Everton players at all. Do you know where they are drinking? In Paddy Creland’s bar, Creland will report me in detail what they did. The problem is that McGrath and Whiteside were placed in the reception room when they were injured, and everyone poured them alcohol, and the news spread. "
Whatever the reason for the team's downturn, Atkinson's disappointment with that season was obvious, and he once thought that he could be the first head coach to lead the team to the championship since Busby led Manchester United to the championship 20 years ago. However, Atkinson also said that the club's top leaders never made such a request to him: "When I took over the team, I told Martin Edwards (then Manchester United president) that we had to get the team back to the European game, and we did this every season, and we had many unforgettable memories in the European arena."
A year later, Atkinson was fired and replaced by the unknown Ferguson at the time, but he had no complaints about it. Atkinson then started a successful coaching period of more than ten years. He led Xie to win the League Cup with Villa on Wednesday and won the runner-up in the first Premier League at Villa. However, Atkinson also admitted that he was not a master of tactics and that he relied more on his management skills.
"I never see only the shortcomings of the players, if they missed the opportunity, I always say, at least you showed up in that position. Passion is free, so make the most of it. I always follow this principle and always see the positive side. But I am also very strict with the players. I think most players are actually willing to accept some harsh words now. They are no different from the players I have managed, and like when I was a player, they don't want to be overprotected."