Giggs would be a great manager for Man United: Yorke

Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke, who was part of the Red Devils’ magical 1999 treble-winning squad, was in town last weekend as part of Singtel’s information and communications technology contest, where six lucky business owners won the chance to host him at their business venues.

TODAY met with the 44-year-old at The Chamber at Robertson Walk, where he shared his views on Manchester United’s performances this season, the ­future of their under-pressure manager Louis van Gaal, and why Ryan Giggs should be the new United manager.

Q: What do you think of United’s performance this season?

A: It has been a difficult one. We ­expected a lot of improvement ­under Van Gaal this season and it has not quite worked out for us.

So, we are very disappointed, in terms of where we are right now in terms of position, being fifth in the League, being out of the Champions League, being down in the first leg of the Europa League, out of League Cup, so yeah … it has been a very difficult season, I am sure not just for me but for Van Gaal, the players and all the United fans around the world.

Q: Do you think Van Gaal is solely to blame for the current situation, or should the players take responsibility, too?

A: When you are the manager, most of the blame goes your way. But I think the players have to take ­responsibility as well. When you play for Manchester United, there is a certain DNA and a certain way of playing. Being an ex-player, I understand that losing is part of the game, but it is the manner that we are losing matches that is really depressing.

There have been times when ­results have gone our way and things have looked up at certain stages. But instead of building on it and kicking on, we have not been able to do that. We come unstuck. We got a good start and then go back to losing two or three games and then we return to the same hole again. I think that is the most disappointing thing for me this season.

Q: Paul Scholes has recently made some harsh comments about United. Do such comments make Van Gaal’s job harder?

A: Scholes is entitled to his opinion and he is one of the best players in United’s history. I think it boiled down to him being frustrated to see the way the team has been losing and not being able to get some momentum going. I think he is right in saying that the team have not performed the way that we all anticipated that they should have been doing.

Van Gaal has said in the past that ex-players will not intimidate him and he will carry on as he sees fit. He is a strong character and believes in his own ways, which may be disappointing and not working at times, but I can’t see it changing.

Q: If Alex Ferguson were still in charge, would Scholes have dared to make such a comment?

A: If Sir Alex was the boss, this situation would not have occurred! The team would not have been in the ­position that they are in because he would have known how to get the best out of his players.

Q: What do you think needs to change now before the start of the next season so Manchester United can become serious title contenders again?

A: It is difficult to say what we need to change right now. What we can do is evaluate the situation come end of the season. If we do not qualify for the Champions League and do not win any trophies then I think they would need to evaluate the position of the manager, the players and everyone else. Everyone has to come under ­assessment, really.

For people to take us as serious contenders, we need to send out a clear message to everyone during pre-season or at the beginning of next season — in terms of the signings, the people who are going to be in charge, or the people who are ­going to take the club forward.

Q: Some of the people in the frame for Manchester United’s managerial role have been your former team-mate Ryan Giggs and former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. Given that someone like Mourinho has a style of football that doesn’t really suit United, should Giggs be given the job instead?

A: Let’s not take anything away from Mourinho. He has been very successful wherever he has been and he has done it in his way and you have to ­applaud that. But, personally, I would give it to Giggs. He has been assistant manager at the club for the past three years and I think, at 42, he is at the right age. You look around the football world and you see people like Zinedine Zidane managing at Real Madrid, Luis Enrique at Barcelona, and Pep Guardiola who is ­going to Manchester City. All these ex-players were given the reins having gone through the transition of being a player to a manager.

Giggs has great knowledge of the club. He has been an exciting player and a focal point of United’s success over the past two decades. I don’t see a reason why, if there were to be a change in manager, it should not be Giggs.

As much as I am a fan of what Mourinho has done and achieved, if you are talking about someone who has the DNA of United, who knows what the fans’ expectations are and knows the club inside out, there is only one name in my opinion. It is Giggs.

Q: Do you think Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial can live up to expectations and be future stars for Manchester United — like your partnership with Andy Cole?

A: The potential is there and we have seen that. But I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and say that they are the finished article and they are definitely going to be superstars, ­because it’s too early to say that.

I have seen people like Federico Macheda who burst into the scene in the past and everyone expected him to be a superstar and it didn’t turn out that way.

As a young player, you have got to have your wits about you, keep your feet on the ground, keep persevering and working hard.

If those two guys (Martial and Rashford) continue to do that every day, then they have a future in the game.