Rio Ferdinand has admitted that Manchester United do not have a clear candidate to take the permanent manager vacancy at the club — and warned the board they must get their appointment right this time.
The Red Devils are looking to appoint a new manager at the end of the season, with interim boss Ralf Rangnick set to step aside and move into a consultancy role. The club sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021 and opted for a short-term stop gap while they search for the right man for the job this summer.
The club’s hierarchy, including football director John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and Rangnick are involved in selecting a long-term successor. It is understood that they have already conducted interviews with candidates, with Ajax coach Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino among the frontrunners.
United have watched their rivals Liverpool and Man City enjoy consistent success after respectively appointing Jurgen Klopp in 2015 and Pep Guardiola a year later. However, Ferdinand — who played for 11 years under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson — does not believe there is one standout coach to fill the vacancy.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said; “None of us have got an answer where we’re all going ‘Oh, that’s the definite person’. I think there would be shouts for people like [Mauricio] Pochettino, I’m sure, obviously [Erik] ten Hag. They’re the two frontrunners people are talking about.
“Listen, it’s a toss of a coin, I don’t know. There’s no one where you’re going ‘oh, ok’, for instance there’s not a Pep [Guardiola] out there right now who’s available. When Manchester City were out there looking for a manager they thought right that’s the go-to guy who you’re going to get 100 per cent certainty from and think ‘he’s perfect’.”
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Man United’s need for fresh impetus was all but confirmed after being dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid earlier in March. It means they have now gone five consecutive seasons without winning a trophy and could miss out on next season’s Champions League too, with Rangnick’s side currently four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
And Ferdinand says there can be no room for error with their choice, adding: “I think everybody who’s out there, there’ll be people saying ‘oh well it’s not quite worked at that club, that’s not the level of competition that they’re going to be used to when coming to the Premier League’. So I think it’s a very difficult one but it’s very significant appointment to be made by the Man United hierarchy and they’ve got to get this one right.”
Meanwhile, Ten Hag has been advised against taking the role by former United coach Louis van Gaal. The 52-year-old is on the verge of winning his third title in five years with the Eredivisie giants. And Van Gaal — who managed at Old Trafford between 2014 and 2016 — says United too focused on business for the Dutchman. "Erik ten Hag should join a football club, not a commercIal club. Manchester United is a commercial club," he said.
