Giggsy’s in frame for Wales
MANCHESTER UNITED have finally found the man capable of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson.
According to Old Trafford legend Gary Pallister, the Special One will show just how special he is after being asked to put United back at the summit of the English and European game.
He believes Mourinho has what it takes to succeed where David Moyes and Louis van Gaal failed – and the natural-born Portuguese winner will bring glory back.
“Manchester United are a unique f ootball club,” said Pallister (right), who was there at the start of the Ferguson revolution in the early 1990s that transformed the Reds into the country’s most successful team. “You don’t just have a responsibility to be successful. You have to win, playing the kind of football that United fans have always demanded. “That’s why Louis van Gaal was sacked. His departure wasn’t handled in the best circumstances, coming so soon after United had triumphed in the FA Cup, but he didn’t qualify for the Champions League and the style of football wasn’t what the fans want. “Some people have questioned whether Mourinho will be any more exciting, but I am sure that he knows he doesn’t only have a responsibility to be successful. “He has spoken to Sir Alex Ferguson and been made aware of the history and that United’s fans demand to see their team play a certain way.” Pallister added: “David Moyes and Van Gaal are excellent managers, but perhaps it was always going to take someone like Mourinho to drag the club into a new era.
“He won’t be overawed by the size of United. When you have lived in the goldfish bowl that is Real Madrid, t hen cons t a n t pressure and big expectations are a way of life.
“He seems like a man who thrives on the biggest challenges – and, let’s be honest, getting Manchester United back where they belong is the biggestst challenge in the Premier League. e. “It’s been three years since Sirir Alex retired and they haven’t’ t qualified for the Champions ns League in two of the three e seasons. That isn’t goodd enough. “United have to be playing in the biggest st tournament, they have to be challenging for the title and wi n n i n g trophies, like the Barcelonas, the Real Madrids and the Bayern Munichs.” The Mourinho era begins at Wembley today, when United face Premier League champions Leicester in the Community Shield. And, while Pallister was a winner of four Premier League titles, three FA Cups, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup, he doesn’t underestimate the value of the five Charity Shields he also collected over the course of nine years at Old Trafford. He said: “I keep hearing the Community Shi Shield ld isi nothingthi more th than a glorified friendly, but this is Wembley, 90,000 fans, millions watching on TV, and the chance to land some silverware.
“Mourinho will be going to Wembley to win. He will see this as his chance to put down a marker against the team that took away Chelsea’s title.
“With Pep Guardiola looking ov over his shoulder from the other si side of Manchester, it is the most un unpredictable Premier League se season ever.
“I still can’t explain what C Claudio Ranieri did last season – it was an incredible title.
“People have tried to say it was a fluke, but I know that you can’t fluke a title.” £1.5million a year. Coleman is in demand after leading his Wales team to the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
And, although he recently signed a new two-year contract, the Welsh FA are aware the lure of managing again in the Premier League – with a substantially bigger salary – would see the 46-year-old cut his ties with the international side.
If Coleman does decide to go, then Giggs is the man Wales bosses would turn to, as they plot qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
The United legend is ready to move into management after quitting Old Trafford rather than take a lesser coaching role under Jose Mourinho.
Giggs, who made 64 appearances for his country and is recognised as one of the Principality’s greatest-ever players, would be a popular replacement.
The former winger was No.2 to David Moyes and Louis van Gaal at United, but is now ready to test himself in the hotseat.
He would be taking the same route as former Old Trafford team-mate Mark Hughes, who also began management life in charge of Wales.