Sir Alex Ferguson had only recently opened up about how he felt he was 'bombed out' of Rangers because of his wife's religion, admitting that he regretted not standing up to those at the club who quizzed him about it.
The former Manchester United manager's wife Lady Cathy Ferguson, who was hailed as his 'tower of strength', died on Thursday aged 84, it was announced this afternoon.
The Glaswegian mother-of-three and grandmother to 12 was described by her husband as his 'bedrock', who had helped nurse him back to health after his stroke following his retirement after 26 years at the club in 2013.