Some of Manchester United’s treble winning outfit have gone on to pursue careers in management and Teddy Sheringham had tipped Gary Neville to eventually lead the Red Devils
Teddy Sheringham was convinced that Gary Neville was going to manage Manchester United – before his spell at Valencia.
The Sky Sports pundit spent time in coaching, working with England before he was given his first opportunity with the Spanish side. Neville’s impressive analysis as a pundit had seen his stock rise and he also had a trophy-laden playing career to draw from.
Among his greatest achievements was winning the treble with his homegrown club in 1999, but he was unable to convert an excellent playing career into management. His spell in La Liga ended poorly and he last just four months in the role, winning 35 percent of his games.
Sheringham felt that Neville’s communication skills would’ve set him up perfectly for a career in the dugout, but the 49-year-old looks unlikely to ever return.
He told FlashScore: “It’s normally the good talkers that become the best managers so I would’ve expected Gary Neville to go on and manage Manchester United until his spell at Valencia put him off.
“I do think that United could’ve done a lot worse than appointing Roy Keane, he would ruffle a few feathers although there is a question mark over whether you can still manage that way. But Keane is a leader of men and would take the reins and say follow me. The Manchester United fans would love him in charge, but he’ll have his own reasons for not managing recently.”
Keane hasn’t been a manager since he was sacked by Ipswich more than a decade ago. The Irishman is open to managing once again but Neville has made it clear he has no ambitions to right the wrongs of his Valencia stint – insisting he should never have taken the role.
He previously told Off the Ball: “I never should have said yes to the job. I wasn’t qualified for the job and didn’t wake up every morning and think about coaching. There was already far too much going on with the Sky stuff, writing articles for a newspaper and doing all the stuff in Manchester with Salford.”
United, in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s dismissal, have turned to a former player once when they hired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian, who scored the goal that won the Champions League, had nearly three years in the role but was unable to lift any silverware.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
