Manchester United are ready to pass up the opportunity to appoint Jose Mourinho and stick with their original plan to have Ryan Giggs succeed Louis van Gaal as manager, according to The Mirror.
The Mirror reports that the changing of the guard will happen at the end of the season, rather than at the end of the three-year deal that Van Gaal signed when he arrived in England, as initially outlined.
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Old Trafford officials promised the job to Giggs when he was named Van Gaal’s assistant and will honour this agreement rather than opt for the immediate fix that Mourinho would provide, The Mirror adds.
The Mirror quotes a United source as saying: “Appointing Mourinho would only paper over the cracks. The club have a long-term plan that they intend to stick to.”
Mourinho is available after his sacking by Chelsea in December, and has secretly coveted the United post for over a decade, according to The Mirror. But it appears as though he might miss out to Giggs.
The Portuguese is a proven winner who would be expected to get the Red Devils back to the top of the game after a post-Sir Alex Ferguson fall from grace which has worsened under Van Gaal this season.
Although he has a phenomenal track record for short-team success, the Special One often leaves a trail of destruction behind him, as with Inter Milan and Chelsea, and Giggs would not lead United into trouble.
The Welshman, who has been with the club since he was a schoolboy, has learned the managerial ropes under Van Gaal and Ferguson, and could be the man to unite the board, players and fans alike.
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