A DAY after former manager Alex Ferguson underwent emergency surgery for a brain haemorrhage, Manchester United tweeted today: “Please. Be strong. Win this one.”

Online posts from United provided no update on the condition of the 76-year-old Ferguson, who the club said on Saturday required “a period of intensive care to optimise his recovery.”

Social media continued to be awash with tributes and get-well messages for Ferguson, who spent almost 27 years in charge before retiring in 2013 as the most successful manager in British football history.

“Manchester United would like to thank the wider football world for the messages of support following the news that Sir Alex Ferguson underwent emergency surgery on Saturday evening,” United posted on its Twitter account.

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata said everyone at the club has been “overwhelmed” by Ferguson’s illness.

Mata joined the Red Devils after Ferguson’s retirement but has witnessed the size of the reaction to the sudden hospitalisation of the club’s most successful manager.

The Spaniard posted a short blog on his website, reading: “This Saturday, all of us were overwhelmed by the news about Sir Alex Ferguson’s health condition.

“This circumstance has had a huge impact on Manchester United, as you can imagine. All of us are united right now, wishing Sir Alex a speedy recovery. He has been a unique and fundamental figure in the football world over the last few decades.

“I’ve never been coached by him, unfortunately, yet I know well his incomparable legacy on this club, that winning mentality and fighting gen (sic) that we must honour in the last three games of the season, especially in the FA Cup final.

“To achieve that, we are going to work hard while we eagerly await good news about Sir Alex’s recovery.”

Mata’s team-mate Phil Jones has described Ferguson, the man who brought him to Old Trafford as a teenager seven years ago, as “like a father.”

“(I am) just devastated, absolutely devastated,” the England international Jones said.

“He is such a legend in my eyes. He is the one who brought me to the club and gave me that opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. He’s taken me under his wing like a father and it was shocking (to hear), it’s sad, but I know his character.

“I know he has that fight in him. Hopefully he’ll recover well.”