Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs has hinted at a potential future in management, following his short spell at the helm with the Red Devils last season.
As the Welsh Wizard hung up his boots after a problematic season under David Moyes, the 40-year-old begun his coaching career, and took charge of the Premier League giants for four games. Britain’s most decorated footballer didn’t have quite the same success on the touchline, but two wins, a draw and a defeat left Giggs with an extreme hunger for more.
Of course there’s highs and lows throughout the week and things that you don’t expect but that’s all the excitement, you never know what’s going to come next.
Newly-released DVD, The Life of Ryan focused on the end of his playing career, before moving on to his short stint as manager at the Theatre of Dreams. When asked about his managerial role with the club he represented 963 times competitively, he said:
“I enjoyed it and I can see why so many people go back for more because no matter what’s happened, if they’ve ended in disappointment in a job, the buzz that you get when you win and preparing the team through the week and then seeing it materialise at the weekend it’s a great feeling and a great satisfaction.
“Of course there’s highs and lows throughout the week and things that you don’t expect but that’s all the excitement, you never know what’s going to come next.”
For the 13-time Premier League winner, four-time FA Cup winner, and even 2-time UEFA Champions League winner – who was also awarded an OBE for his services to football in 2007 – the contrasting emotions granted by both victory and defeat were something he appreciated to a finer level in a suit and tie rather than football boots. He added:
Of course it was a disappointing season overall, but you have to look forward and learn from your mistakes, look to improve all the time.
“As a manager the feeling of winning is much greater and the feeling of losing is. As a player, the feeling of losing is bad but as a manager you feel it even more so.”
Giggs took the position after the rapid departure of David Moyes, and has since been appointed by Louis van Gaal as his assistant in a new era at Old Trafford. Moyes had given Giggs his first coaching position at the club while occasionally playing, but little did he know he would replace the Scot in April. He reflected on his time on the touchline, commenting:
“You always look at what you could have done better and what you did well. Of course it was a disappointing season overall, but you have to look forward and learn from your mistakes, look to improve all the time.
“It was a tough year for everyone, but obviously I hope that David does well. It’s a great chance for him and a great challenge for him to be actually coaching in a different country which probably not enough British managers do, so it’s brave and I’m sure he’s excited and I hope he does well.”
It’s a totally different mind-set from being the one being spoken to, to actually giving out the instructions, delivering training sessions and doing things throughout the week to prepare for the game.
With Louis van Gaal arriving at Manchester United after a successful World Cup campaign with the Netherlands national team, after managing European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Giggs was somewhat surprised by the Dutchman’s immediate decision to appoint one of ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ as his assistant. Giggs also remarked on his new boss, adding:
“He obviously demands a lot, he’s somebody who’s got plenty of experience, likes to play attacking football, likes to give youth a chance so there’s plenty of synergy there with the history of Manchester United and the traditions so it’s great to learn from somebody who’s managed at the top for so long and just try to learn as I go and try to prove myself as a coach.
“It’s an apprenticeship, it’s starting all over again. It’s a totally different mind-set from being the one being spoken to, to actually giving out the instructions, delivering training sessions and doing things throughout the week to prepare for the game.”
Despite his 27 years at the Theatre of Dreams, Giggs’ mentioning of an ‘apprenticeship’ suggests he may be looking to leave the nest after learning the trade from Van Gaal, potentially wanting to fulfil a glittering career as a manager, wanting to replicate his success on the pitch elsewhere. The United number two said:
I’ve been at the club for so long, that I'm faimilar with the club but if I want to further my coaching career or managing career - and if it’s not at Manchester United then so be it.
“I’ve been at the club for so long, that I’m familiar with the club but if I want to further my coaching career or managing career - and if it’s not at Manchester United then so be it - but I’ll just have to wait and see.”
With an impressive collection of medals and trophies from his time under Ferguson and Moyes, Giggs has proved he isn’t the type to dwell on his achievements, or conceal personal regrets from his lengthy playing career. As a player, he had scored in every Premier League season with Manchester United, except his final campaign, but the idea didn’t bother the calm former midfielder, stating:
“I have much bigger regrets than that like playing better when we got beat off Barcelona in Rome and also at Wembley, again against Barcelona, more about things like that, the big games that you lost but personal accolades yeah they’re great but it never mattered to me much when I was playing and doesn’t now.”
It is a process, I mean I think everyone will agree that Chelsea are head and shoulders above anyone else at the moment but it’s a process and you just have to try to keep improving and see where that takes you.
Giggs also revealed that he is most frequently questioned, “When are Manchester United going to win the title?”, but with Vn Gaal processing a transitional stage at the Theatre of Dreams, the issue has turned to when can the side become title contenders again. The Welshman commented on the situation of overhaul and transformation, saying:
“It is a process, I mean I think everyone will agree that Chelsea are head and shoulders above anyone else at the moment but it’s a process and you just have to try to keep improving and see where that takes you.
“It’s never easy winning the league or never easy beating teams in the Premier League, we’ve seen that this season it’s getting more like the Championship has been year after year it’s a case where anyone can beat anyone so you have to be at your best every week and hopefully we will be, we’ll keep improving, get players back on the pitch and, like I say, there’s enough talent in that dressing room to take us up the League and try to finish as high as we can.”
Having joined the ranks of United as a schoolboy, and leaving a worldwide role model, Giggs is well aware of the upcoming youth prospects dazzling in the junior ranks at the club. With Van Gaal a known admirer of using and promoting youth talent at a number of clubs, he has already given first-team debuts to Tyler Blackett, Jesse Lingard, Patrick McNair,Tom Thorpe, Saidy Janko, Andreas Periera and Reece James.
Giggs holds him in high regard for his ability to encourage the future of the club. Giggs had also given James Wilson and Tom Lawrence debuts in his four games, but could progress to find opportunities as a first team manager in the future away from the club that developed and ripened a tender Ryan Giggs.