Reports put Ancelotti in frame for United

MANCHESTER United began their search for a new manager yesterday, with newspaper reports claiming that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had emerged as a candidate to succeed David Moyes.

Several British newspapers said Ancelotti was being considered for the vacancy, along with Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal, who emerged as the early favourite for the post following Moyes’s sacking on Tuesday.

However, whereas Ancelotti, the for- mer Chelsea manager, is less than a year into a three-year contract at Madrid, Van Gaal is scheduled to step down from his position with Holland after this year’s World Cup.

Van Gaal, 62, has expressed an interest in working in England and former Holland forward Bryan Roy, who worked under him at Ajax, believes he would be a perfect fit at United.

“He will never turn down Manchester United, believe me. I think it’s the job he really wants.

“And he will be a revelation at Manchester United,” Roy, now a coach at Ajax, told the Daily Mirror.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is another figure to have been linked with the vacancy at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, reports claim that former United manager Alex Ferguson will play an active role in the search for a new head coach, despite having been chiefly responsible for the decision to appoint Moyes. – AFP