For all Sir Alex Ferguson’s undoubted greatness the current malaise at Manchester United is a blot on his reputation.

Each time the camera pans on him in the directors box you can’t help feeling he left his successors with a poisoned chalice – and the last thing they need is the shadow of Old Red Cheeks gazing down from the posh seats at Old Trafford.

You could say Fergie got the timing of his departure right when he bowed out with United crowned Premier League champions in 2013.

But even in the second half of that season there were signs it was a team on the decline and his judgment in the transfer market appeared on the wain.

Conor O’Shea’s exit from Harlequins – he will have been director of rugby for six years when he leaves in the summer – is a different kettle of fish.

The high point of his reign came relatively early with their Premiership win in 2012 and this campaign has been the closest to a return of those heights.

It would be fitting if O’Shea could bow out with another trophy to crown the club’s most successful spell in the professional era.

Whether or not that happens, O’Shea could hardly be leaving Quins in a better state for his successor.

Top quality experience, swathes of young talent and the club’s reputation restored to the extent Bloodgate seems a distant memory.

If, as seems likely, O’Shea takes charge of Italy, it is hard to imagine how that job is more attractive than the one he leaves behind.

Sometimes there is a right time to quit and let someone else have a go.

If Quins enjoy continued success the Irishman deserves to bask in the reflected glory.