Manchester United defender Chris Smalling believes that assistant manager Ryan Giggs has the necessary qualities to become a great manager in the future.
With the pressure still mounting on Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho heavily touted as the Dutchman’s successor at Old Trafford next season, the 26-year-old believes that the club’s most decorated player and his former team-mate can be a success as a manager.
In an in-depth interview with The Independent, he said:
He has the qualities to be a great coach. The manager gives him a lot of responsibility when analysing the opposition and doing his team meetings. Quite often, when we are training 11 v 11, he will take one of the teams.
Oh, he is nasty enough and he has shown that in training. If we are playing and he’s not happy, he’ll let everyone know about it.
Giggs was touted to be van Gaal’s successor at United when the Dutchman first took charge in the summer of 2014, but recent events at the Theatre of Dreams have seen the 42-year-old’s chances decrease by the day, with Mourinho now the overwhelming favourite to take over at the end of the season.
However, if Giggs were to take charge, it would not be his first time taking charge as manager. Following David Moyes’ sacking, the Welshman was interim player-manager for the last four games of the 2013-14 season, where he won two, drew one and lost one.
