PROSPER IN ITALY LIKE ALDO DID IN SPAIN

Indeed, Ferguson's arrival is likely to generate giddy levels of excitement among one section of the club's vast support, the so-called Irish Clan.

- BY MARK McCADDEN

This is a group of locals who have long waved Irish flags in the famous Curva Sud, the home of the club's Ultra groups at the Stadio Olimpico.

It is believed that the group was formed by one Rome native who studied English in Dublin during the 1990s, and whose enthusiasm for the Emerald Isle spread among his pals.

Aldridge had to quickly get to grips with the language during his two seasons in Spain, and he says learning the lingo should be a top priority for Ferguson.

Getting off the mark as soon as possible is another one, while Aldridge, in the midst of his difficult start to life in Spain, benefited from forging close friendships with teammates.

"The lads, as soon as I went into the dressing-room, were excellent with me," he said.

"I had a lad called Inaki Alaba, who really took me under his wing. I was in a hotel on my own for some time, but I would go out and have a few beers with him.

"It was an experience when I was on my own while we were trying to find a villa. But it makes you stronger down the road."