Ben Foster has revealed just how strict Sir Alex Ferguson was at Manchester United when it came to upholding standards at the club.

During his 26-year tenure at United, Ferguson won 13 Premier League championships and left an unparalleled legacy in English football.

He had high expectations for his players, not just regarding their behavior on the field but also off it.

The fiery Scotsman took issue with David Beckham’s haircuts and it was a non-negotiable that players had to be smart and presentable.

And according to Foster, this applied to travelling to and from games – even on flights to away games.

The retired goalkeeper, who made 23 appearances for United and won two League Cups, says United players had to board the plane in their club suits.

They would then be able to change into something more casual for the journey but had to be back into their smarter attire for when landing.

It didn’t matter how long the journey was, there was an expectation to be wearing a suit when taking off and when landing.

“When I was at United, with Sir Alex Ferguson, that was the bare minimum – hitting the standard was the bare minimum,” he said on the Cycling GK podcast.

“I remember, if we would play away and we would fly, then we would get on the plane and you would get changed almost instantly.

“You arrive, you’re in your suit, you’ve got your tie on. Everything’s done. You don’t even dare not have your top button done up, tie to the top perfect.

“You look immaculate. You’ve got your shoes on shined. The second you got on the plane, you would take your suit off, put it into its hanger and hang it up all nicely.”

Being in a full suit for a flight isn’t too comfortable and so there was a period where players could be in a tracksuit.

Yet they had to be back in the suit ready for business when it came to exiting, to show that they United were “in town”.

Foster continued: “Everybody is all labelled up nicely. You would get into leisurewear – shorts, t-shirt and everything like that.

“It might be a three-hour flight, it might be a six-hour flight. Within half an hour of landing, it would be ”Right lads, everybody back in your seats – get dressed again’.

“You get off the plane looking exactly the same as what you got looked on it six hours previous.

“It would be, ‘Oh, Man United are in town’ and it carried so much weight.”

When Ferguson retired, the rule was not implemented, but when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over, he reinstated it.

Last season, Erik ten Hag prohibited the players from wearing club-sponsored suits before of the Carabao Cup final because he felt it interfered with their schedules.

Man Utd players under Ten Hag are no longer strict about their outfit