Former United defender Gary Neville feels Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is the ideal candidate to take over the Manchester United job.
The Reds Devils are looking for a new boss after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
Zinedine Zidane, Pochettino and Antonio Conte are all said to be in the running to become the club’s next manager.
READ MORE: 5 contenders for Manchester United job
The Old Trafford club hopes to have an external caretaker manager installed in the next 48 hours.
They will remain in charge of the team until the end of the season.
A recruitment process for Mourinho’s replacement will be conducted during that time.
Neville said: “They’ve tried managers who have won European Cups, they’ve tried managers who have won multiple leagues, they’ve tried managers, to be fair, who have had that solid grounding in the Premier League.
“My view is that they need someone who meets the three key principles of that football club and that is the promotion of youth, entertaining football and to win football matches.
“At this moment in time he (Pochettino) is the person who is the outstanding candidate, but if you are a Tottenham Hotspur fan you won’t appreciate me saying that.”
He told Sky Sports News: “I said last season that the next manager of Manchester United should be Mauricio Pochettino.
“When I look at the values of Manchester United, you look at Mauricio Pochettino’s belief in young players at Southampton and with Tottenham. You look at his performance levels and the style of play, the way in which he carries himself at all times, publicly and in private.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to spend two or three days at Tottenham’s training ground and to me he just feels like the most ideal candidate.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool great Graeme Souness says there are no quick fixes at Manchester United.
READ MORE: Jose Mourinho at Manchester United – a timeline
Souness said the new manager has huge rebuilding task: “In an ideal world it would be an ex-Man Utd man who would be given a little more time than anyone else coming in.
“But it isn’t a quick fix at United. You can’t keep throwing money at it, there is a period of time where they are going to have to bite the bullet and say ‘we ain’t going to dominate, we might not get the Champions League’.
“It’s not a quick road back for them, I think, looking at that group of players.”
Neville seemed to agree with Souness’ summation of the players at the club after saying that he believes Mourinho is not the only person who needs to take responsibility for the club’s fortunes.
He added: “The players take responsibility, the board take responsibility, the manager and the coaching staff, obviously.
READ MORE: Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United signings
“There have been seven years of poor decisions and poor recruitment. I’ve no idea who makes the decisions in the football club from a point of view of recruitment and structure – who has the final say? Who is it that is telling Jose Mourinho that those players shouldn’t be signed? I can’t see anybody in the football club that has the qualifications to do that.
“The recruitment over the last years has been erratic, the current management team have had now three chances at appointing a manager, they’re probably going to get a fourth.”
“My personal view is that the club needs to reset,” Neville said.
“This is not just a moment to sack Jose Mourinho and appoint another manager, this is a moment for the club to take stock of what they’re doing, to reset the structure in terms of recruitment, in terms of the decision making in the football club and make sure what they do next is the right move
“That’s not about speed, that’s about making sure the next manager is the right manager. The reality of that is that they’re going to have to put the right football structure in around him.
“They see it as a positive that they’ve got 65 scouts, I see it as confusion, particularly if you’ve not got what would be a definitive individual who has a level of control.
“They’ve got to reset the football structure within the club, they’ve got to put more intelligent people in there who understand the football side of things and not just hide behind the manager. They have to look at themselves as well and make sure there is a change.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
