Manchester United : 'As long as there's United, Sir Matt is alive'

We should have been three or four up but didn't get there and in the end we were fortunate to survive that late scare. Then, at full-time, Matt spoke to us all. It was the end of May, a hot day, there wasn't a breath of air left to take. You wouldn't believe how hot it was. Matt told us not to show the Benfica players that we were tired. Fifteen minutes later, we'd scored three in the first half of extra-time.

When the final whistle went, straight away, everybody's thoughts turned to Matt. Can you imagine what must have been going through his mind - and Jimmy's mind - to have finally won the European Cup after Munich? Matt was the one who took English clubs into Europe and, after everything he and the club had been through, he'd finally won the big one. We wanted him to go up and lift the European Cup, but he wouldn't, even after everything. Wouldn't do it. Can you believe that?

I would always see Matt long after I'd finished playing and he'd retired. My daughter went to school with his grandkids - Sheena's kids - so they were in the same clique. I'd see him every week, more or less, and he was totally unchanged. The whole family were just terrific people. Sandy [his son] was a great lad and Jean, Matt's wife, was always fantastic. While Matt was manager, if the team was away in Europe, or away on tour for weeks at a time, Jean would go and check in with the families to make sure that everything was alright. Both she and Matt recognised that the players weren't the only important people involved with the club.

They knew your kids, your grandkids, your parents, knew everybody in your family. He made a point of that with his players. He was that type of person. Of course, towards the end, we all knew that Matt was ill. Everyone went to see him during his illness, sometimes individually, sometimes in twos or threes. There was never a shortage of people wanting to see him.

I never said goodbye to Matt, as such. You knew he was very ill, but you always thought that Matt Busby was invincible, that he'd never die. When you look around Old Trafford today, hear the fans still singing his name, see his statue, see everything that he made happen, you realise that he's still here, still alive.

As long as there's a Manchester United, Sir Matt Busby is alive.