Paul Scholes has named the two managers who he believes Manchester United should have appointed when they opted to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ralf Rangnick was drafted in as interim manager when the Norwegian was fired following a humiliating defeat to relegation-threatened Watford. While results have improved under the German, the Red Devils’ performances have been mixed.
That has left them at serious threat of missing out on a place in next season’s Champions League, with Arsenal currently occupying the final place in the Premier League ’s top four. United are one point adrift of the Gunners having played three games more than Mikel Arteta’s men, with Rangnick set to move into a consultancy role at the end of the season.
With Rangnick moving upstairs, United will need to find a new man to take over the manager’s job on a permanent basis. Mauricio Pochettino and Erik Ten Hag are thought to be the two frontrunners to be appointed in the summer.
Scholes though does not believe either are the answer to United’s many problems and believes that his former side missed out on two bosses he would have considered to be the dream appointments. The former midfielder won 11 Premier League titles during his time at Old Trafford and has insisted United made a mistake by appointing Rangnick on an interim basis.
Instead, he believes that the Red Devils should have pushed to appoint either Antonio Conte or Thomas Tuchel. And he has also demanded that United attempt to bring in either one, with both men’s futures looking uncertain at Tottenham and Chelsea respectively.
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“I would have gone for Conte or Tuchel. It looks like one might be available at the end of the season. Those are two top class coaches that strike fear into players and win, which is the most important thing,” Scholes told BT Sport.
“United, with either one of those managers, would be much better off. I think they’re an elite coach away from challenging for trophies again. They’ve got a good squad with some top players, but for the last three or four years, they’ve not had an elite coach.
Scholes has also insisted that whoever United appoint in the summer must come with a fearsome reputation. He believes that the Red Devils should follow the example set by Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp at Manchester City and Liverpool in a bid to return to the top of the table.
“You need a manager that strikes fear into players, Sir Alex Ferguson had that, have any of the managers since him had that? I don’t think so. It’s a special talent to have as a coach. Those Man City players under Pep, those Liverpool players under Klopp, they’ll get away with nothing,” he added.
“These players here (United) for the last two or three years have got away with murder. I’m not saying they’ll catch Man City or Liverpool. But I don’t think they’re far away from Chelsea, squad-wise, but once they get that right coach and have two or three years to build, they’ll be challenging again.”
