STEVE Tilson has admitted to being blown away by Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction to losing at Southend United.

The legendary former Manchester United boss saw his expensively assembled side humbled at Roots Hall in the League Cup a decade ago.

But, despite the defeat, Ferguson came into the dressing room to congratulate the Shrimpers at the end of the game and then also invited Tilson to the Red Devils’ Carrington training base.

“Sir Alex was an absolute class act when we played them both before and after the game,” recalled Tilson.

“After we had beaten them he came into the dressing room to say well done to the players and then had a drink with us all.

“It was then that he invited me to go up for a day with him at their training ground and that was an experience I’ll never forget.

“I walked out with him for the training session, I watched the whole session and then sat down to have lunch with him as well.

“After that I walked out with him at the end of the day and for him to do all that for me was just magnificent.

“It’s something I’ll always be grateful for and will never forget.”

Tilson’s team were able to triumph against United thanks to a fine, first half free-kick from Freddy Eastwood.

But the former Shrimpers boss believes it was an early Efe Sodje challenge which set the tone for the game.

“I remember Efe smashing into the back of Ronaldo after about two minutes and I think that showed that we really meant business,” said Tilson.

“But I’ve watched the game back a couple of times and we actually played some fantastic football, especially in the first half.

“Kevin Maher and Mark Gower were both such good players and they showed it again that night with the way they performed.

“Freddy Eastwood scored a brilliant free-kick but I didn’t ever really feel like we were hanging on although Darryl Flahavan did have to make a couple of good saves.”

Blues’ win saw them surge through to the quarter finals of the League Cup.

And the victory even surprised their own manager.

“I can be honest now and when I first saw that Manchester United line-up I was fearing the worst,” said Tilson.

“They were top of the Premier League at the time and won the European Cup a year later.

"But we just had a real go and as a one off I would have to say that night remains the number one highlight of my footballing career.”