Giggs Defends Managerial Aspirations

Giggs defends his managerial aspirations and says Manchester United should focus on trying to finish second behind Manchester City.

I did an interview last week about my managerial aspirations and received some criticism because apparently I wasn't willing to manage at a lower level.

I didn't say anything at all about not managing at a lower level; I said because of my experience, I'd be more suited coaching at the level which I previously played and coached.

My critic quoted Steven Gerrard saying, in his experience, footballers want to just do their UEFA C Licence and go straight into the job. I did my UEFA B Licence when I was 29, my A Licence when I was 35, my Pro Licence while I was still playing and I coached at Manchester United for three years - including managing four games - so I don't see the relevance.

The argument that players who have been a success can't go into success is a non-argument. People use Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger but there are also countless examples of unsuccessful players being unsuccessful managers. It is all down to the individual.

I played until I was 40 so I was doing my Pro Licence on a Saturday and Sunday, training on a Monday and Tuesday, doing more coaching and then driving back for Champions League games on Wednesday. To say I haven't put in the work is ridiculous.

I felt I could gain more from moving on and I'm now waiting for that right opportunity. I've shown interest in the Wales job and I'm involved in Salford and the Vietnamese football academy.

Every day it gets a bit more difficult with the climate of coaching appointments. I've grown up with the ethos of building something and that seems to have gone out of the window.

I think you see with contracts being offered, nobody is getting the long-term deals which Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger had.

You look at Sean Dyche, who has been able to establish himself and is now really building something great at Burnley, but then there's the likes of Mark Hughes and Eddie Howe who lose a couple of games and suddenly people say they're under pressure.

I don't know if what Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United is possible anymore with the climate of everything, the media and the money, right now.

Sir Alex used to come down and watch us at 14 at The Cliff and see which players would be in the first team in three or four years, but I don't think you can do that anymore.

Jose Mourinho has obviously got a point about Manchester City buying full-backs for £50m and his comment on PSG being able to purchase so much quality in depth.

I also think United have struggled with the change of managers over the last few years as you've got a mix of players brought in by David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. Chelsea and Liverpool are accustomed to that change and it isn't something United are used to.

Ultimately I don't think United are the team right now that can compete with PSG and Man City. It's not that they can't compete financially, but the profile of the players they have are all very different.

I think United would take second now and have to concentrate on keeping hold of that. You have to hold up your hands and say City have been the best team, so second place and good runs in the FA Cup and Champions League would represent a good campaign.

I think they'd have to win every game between now and the end of the season, which is virtually impossible, and expect City to lose quite a few games, which also looks pretty unlikely.

It is just those little mistakes. They should have beaten Leicester by three or four and then you get a knock-on with the Burnley game, where they were really poor in the first half, and then the Southampton shut-out, so they need to focus on those issues before thinking about challenging City.

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