• Ryder Cup

McIlroy: Ferguson had me in a trance

As far as motivational speeches go, it does not get much bigger for Rory McIlroy than to listen to Sir Alex Ferguson's wise words ahead of the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

McIlroy, an ardent Manchester United fan, revealed that he was "in a trance" as the Red Devils' trophy-laden manager delivered a rousing battle cry at the European team's hotel on Tuesday.

Ferguson, 72, who won every competition there was to win in his 26 years as United manager, was drafted in by captain Paul McGinley in a bid to inspire his team at Gleneagles. And in the case of McIlroy, at least, the move appears to have had the desired effect.

'Fergie gave the players some stick'

Sir Alex Ferguson was drafted in by Paul McGinley to speak to Europe's Ryder Cup team © Getty Images

• Paul McGinley remained tight-lipped on exactly what Sir Alex Ferguson told his players - mainly because "a lot of tactics were involved".
• But the European captain did reveal that Ferguson was happy to lay into some of his players regarding their football allegiances.
• "When it came to banter," he said, "obviously Ian Poulter got a lot of stick for being a big Arsenal fan, but Thomas Bjorn got it the worst for being a Liverpool fan.
• "Also, [Lee Westwood's caddy] Billy Foster is a big Leeds United fan, and Sir Alex riled him about [all the] players he got to move from Leeds to Manchester United - Billy let him know in no uncertain terms!
• "It was just a bit of banter."

"For me, being a Manchester United fan, [it] was the highlight of the week so far," McIlroy told reporters.

"I was sitting there, looking up at him and I didn't take my eyes off him. I was in this trance listening to everything that he was saying.

"I was thinking that this is probably all the sort of stuff he's said to Manchester United teams over the years.

"He told us a couple of stories, just of past experiences of some big games and big matches and some of the players that he managed. It was a great evening, a really cool thing to be a part of."

McIlroy, who won back-to-back majors at the Open Championship and the US PGA Championship this summer, paraded the Claret Jug during half-time of United's 2-1 defeat to Swansea at Old Trafford on the opening day of the Premier League season.

He and fellow United fan Graeme McDowell had also taken to Twitter after Tuesday night's speech to hail Ferguson, the most successful football manager in British history with 13 Premier League titles and two European Cups to his name.

The Northern Irish duo have been put into practice together by McGinley for Wednesday morning's session, hinting at a possible pairing in the weekend's foursomes.

McIlroy and McDowell have played six matches together at the Ryder Cup though are not expected to pair up on Friday. However, McGinley has denied any split would be due to the ongoing legal issue involving them, insisting it would be a purely tactical decision.

McDowell himself explained that his dynamic with world No.1 McIlroy has now "changed forever" and he cannot play the "older brother" leadership role he took up at Celtic Manor and Medinah.

What a great first practice day @rydercup ending with a team talk from the man himself Sir Alex Ferguson. Going to bed a happy boy!— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) September 23, 2014

Great day at the office w/ @rydercupEUROPE. Official photos, media, practice, played 18, rules briefing and an hour with Sir Alex! #legend— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) September 23, 2014

Alex Perry will be giving his insights from Gleneagles for the duration of the Ryder Cup. Follow him on Twitter: @AlexPerryESPN

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd