Giggs: Why United choosing Mourinho ‘winds me up’

Matt Stead

Ryan Giggs says that “it winds me up” to say he has no experience as a manager, but accepts that is why the club appointed Jose Mourinho.

Giggs and Mourinho were in contention to replace Louis van Gaal as United manager in summer 2016, but the Portuguese was given the nod.

Giggs accepts it was a simple decision, Mourinho the seasoned manager in comparison, but the Welshman says that “it winds me up” to suggest he has no “experience as a manager” – which he doesn’t.

“I thought I was in with a shout,” Giggs told The Times of replacing Van Gaal. “But the club were in a difficult situation. They had fallen down the pecking order, so do they go for someone who — and it winds me up saying this — hasn’t got experience as a manager or do they go for a winner?

“They went for a winner, in José, a win-at-all-costs type of manager. Is José a typical Manchester United manager? Probably not, but United were in a situation of ‘How quickly can we get back to the top?’ I totally understand that. I just felt I could have brought continuity. I knew the players. I know what a Manchester United player looks like.”

Giggs has been out of work in England since leaving United when Mourinho was appointed, and has since served as a pundit, increased his role with Salford City and has accepted a position as director of football in Vietnam.

“I do feel I would be more suited to coaching at the top than coaching at the bottom,” he added.

“I don’t have experience in the lower divisions. It’s not where I’ve worked in my career. I’ve spent my whole life in the Premier League — not just as a player but as a player-coach and assistant manager. I know now I wasn’t ready when I had those four games in charge at United [as caretaker in 2014], but I’m a lot better qualified to manage now after those two years with Louis. That was a fantastic experience.”

Having ruled out managing Swansea, the Welshman then turned to discussing the prospect of managing his home country, who have yet to replace Chris Coleman.

“Wales is my country,” he said. “International football is different. Gary Speed and Chris Coleman didn’t have much experience when they got the job. Sparky [Mark Hughes] didn’t have any.

“I know the players and the system. We’ve got a world-class player in Gareth Bale, some great players just beneath, some really good young players coming through, like [Ethan] Ampadu at Chelsea, [Ben] Woodburn at Liverpool. It would be a great job.”