REDS LEGENDS BACK GARETH AS NEW BOSS
ROY KEANE and Gary Neville have backed Gareth Southgate to take over from Erik ten Hag at Manchester United this summer.
England boss Southgate has emerged as the leading candidate, should Ten Hag be sacked after two seasons at Old Trafford.
United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is in charge of football operations, is understood to have made Southgate (above) his first choice to lead the club into a new era.
Southgate, 53, has a close relationship with Dan Ashworth – United’s incoming director of football, who is currently on gardening leave from Newcastle – following their time working together at the FA.
Now former United skippers Keane and Neville have endorsed Southgate’s candidacy for the job, with both convinced he can be persuaded to leave the England role after Euro 2024.
“I could see that happening,” said Keane (inset, bottom).
“Well, obviously everyone’s thinking he’s probably going to be with England this summer if he has a good championship, thinking if they could win it.
“And if they don’t, then maybe they’re thinking, ‘Maybe you’ve run your race with him’. He has a connection with Dan Ashworth, who he has worked with previously. Yeah, I’m not that surprised with it.”
Neville (inset, top) claimed he had never visualised his former England teammate Southgate in charge of United, but said he had now come around to the idea of him leading the Red Devils.
“I never saw Gareth Southgate as a Manchester United manager,” said Neville. “Psychologically, I never saw that.
“I can see it now Dan Ashworth has come in.
“I just think, ‘What does Erik ten Hag need to do to stay as Manchester United manager?’.
“So, for instance, is the FA Cup enough or does he need to get top four, or top five, Champions League? I think if Gareth is leaving, to be honest with you, you’ll have seen this in tournaments, but it’s never been easy.
“England will have qualifiers starting up again a couple of months after the tournament, so they’ll have to have a new manager in.
“Gareth will need to sort his future out, to get a club for potentially the start of next season. So I think if it’s done maturely, I can see how it would be brought forward in terms of Gareth.
“Forget Manchester United, England would need to appoint a new manager. So they’re going to have to appoint a new manager pre-tournament, probably.
“And say Gareth is going to be leaving after the tournament, unless he’s just going to leave on the last day and do it quietly.” ■■Roy Keane and Gary Neville were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.