Former Manchester United star Mark Hughes has suggested that his old team-mate Ryan Giggs might now be in with a better chance of landing the manager’s job at Old Trafford.
Giggs had a brief stint as caretaker manager after David Moyes’ sacking in 2014, and he then served as assistant to Louis van Gaal for the following two seasons.
The Welshman then left, however, when Jose Mourinho was chosen as Van Gaal’s replacement at United, though Hughes now feels his experience in charge of Wales puts him in a better position than before.
“I think Ryan is in a good place in his management career,” Hughes was quoted by BBC Sport.
“He is on an upward trend. He is probably more likely to get an opportunity at Manchester United than he was when [Louis] van Gaal left [in 2016].
“Maybe they felt his management CV wasn’t strong enough at that point, but if he goes to the European Championship and does well, then there’s no reason why he won’t be in the frame.
“He was a fantastic player throughout his career. And he’s had good opportunities to learn the game on the other side of the fence.
“Obviously he was mentored by Sir Alex [Ferguson] for many years and in later years he was able to work alongside him. He then worked very closely with Van Gaal for a couple of years, which I felt was a good decision by him and the club.
“I thought that was with a view to him taking over the role when Van Gaal left. It wasn’t to be, they made the decision to go for a bigger name in terms of management – Mourinho.
“I think that was pushed maybe a little bit because of the appointment at Manchester City of Guardiola. Maybe they felt they needed like for like, which probably affected Ryan’s chances.”
This comes as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position as Man Utd boss looks in some doubt, with the Daily Mirror linking Mauricio Pochettino as a big name the club have one eye on.
It’s not been a good start to the season for the Red Devils, so Solskjaer may well be feeling the pressure as he struggles to take this side forward.
Many United fans will be underwhelmed with the idea of Giggs taking over, however, as he is similarly inexperienced and certainly not in the same calibre as someone like Pochettino.
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