A MYRIAD of admirers regard Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the greatest club managers the world has ever seen.

But there are precious few who can claim the respect is reciprocated.

Sam Allardyce is one of that select band and the Manchester United manager will stand up and say so himself at a tribute dinner in honour of the Wanderers boss at the Reebok on Thursday night.

Sir Alex likes Big Sam; he likes his management style and admires him for what he has achieved, serving his time in the lower divisions with Blackpool and Notts County before not only leading Wanderers into the top flight but keeping them there.

His personal tribute before an esteemed gathering at the Variety Club event is sure to be a warm, sincere and richly deserved testimonial but, as a dyed in the wool professional, deeds are more important than words and the accolade Allardyce attaches most value to was the fact that Fergie would send out his best available team to do battle in the Reebok derby 24 hours earlier.

It was not always the case. Without playing down the achievement of magnificent and memorable triumphs at Old Trafford in successive seasons, Allardyce took full advantage of United being distracted by European commitments to mastermind two of the biggest Premiership shocks of 2001 and 2002. Fergie paid a high price for tinkering with his team and will never again under-estimate the men from the Reebok.

"We've had our opportunities against Manchester United and we've taken them," the Wanderers' boss says reflecting on those famous victories. "Alex felt he could change his team around and rest players but now we've earned his respect. He'll play his best players against us now; that shows how far we've come but it also means we have a much more difficult game.

"They are, or rather he is, the benchmark for what we would want to achieve, if only we could," he says.

"He has that ever-rotating conveyor belt of talent and success. He actually takes massive calculated risks at times and it's only rarely that those risks don't pay off.

"This time round I suppose you'd have questioned his signings but he had a problem when he didn't get Ronaldinho. So he's signed players for the future rather than the present -- squad members who back up the top end.

"He'll have been disappointed not to have got Ronaldinho because there are only a few players around the world who are capable of signing for Manchester United. But what Ronaldinho appears to have done is to go after the razzamataz and the money at Barcelona rather than the trophies at Manchester United.

"That's up to him but what Fergie has done instead is to get in Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Ronaldo and Bellion, who are all young, fresh enthusiastic players who have added a new dimension to a very talented squad."