Gary Neville gives full support to Moyes should he be given the job.
Gary Neville said he would “welcome” the appointment of David Moyes as Manchester United’s new manager following the retirement of Alex Ferguson.
Everton manager Moyes emerged as the early front-runner to replace Ferguson after his fellow Scot announced on Wednesday he was retiring as manager of the Premier League champions.
“I would welcome the appointment of David Moyes,” former United defender turned television pundit Neville told Sky Sports. “Somebody who is there for the long term. This is not a club that will go for quick fixes.
“The next Manchester United manager will be a result for putting sanity back in football. You see some of the appointments recently and it’s short-term fixes and scouting systems ripped up.
“United don’t operate that way, they have an element of sense.”
Moyes, linked to the Old Trafford vacancy in media reports, has long been spoken of with admiration by Ferguson for his work on a tight budget at Everton, but has not won a major trophy since taking charge in 2002.
Moyes was odds-on favourite with all major British bookmakers hours after Ferguson’s departure.
Other candidates for one of the most high-profile jobs in world football include Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, who established a friendly rivalry with Ferguson when in charge of Chelsea and who has made no secret of his desire to return to England.
United’s chief executive David Gill outlined the qualities required for the manager’s job at Old Trafford and said only a handful of candidates had them.
“The qualities are the ones that have been inherent at Manchester United for many years,” Gill told MUTV.
“Our two most successful eras were with managers who got involved with all aspects of the club, from the youth team to the first team, to get that degree of loyalty and understanding of the football club.
“Clearly he has to have the requisite football experience, both in terms of domestic and European experience. It is a small pool.”
Gill said the board would seek the opinion of Ferguson and United director Bobby Charlton before naming a new manager.
The chief executive — who himself is stepping down at the end of the season — insisted that although Ferguson was joining the board, his successor would be given the space he needed.
But former United and England midfielder Paul Ince said there was a risk Ferguson’s continuing presence at the club where he has won 38 trophies in 26 years could have a negative effect.
“Whoever comes in to replace him is going to have to deal with the Man United legacy,” Ince told Sky Sports News.
“Replacing Alex Ferguson is such a massive, massive job. Whoever goes in will need the help of Alex Ferguson.
“Whoever comes in, if it doesn’t go well you’ve got Sir Alex Ferguson upstairs and it can put added pressure on you.”
For United fans, the precedent for Ferguson’s decision to maintain an Old Trafford role is not encouraging.
When Ferguson’s fellow Scottish managerial great Matt Busby — who took United to their first European Cup title in 1968 — retired, he remained as a general manger, only for first Wilf McGuinness and then Frank O’Farrell to come and go before the club were relegated to English football’s second tier in 1974.
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