Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has named his ideal pick to replace Erik ten Hag as he expects the Red Devils boss may come under pressure this summer – Zinedine Zidane.
Yorke exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone that he could see Zidane being an ideal fit to instantly command respect from these players and do a better job of instilling discipline than Ten Hag has been able to in his time at Old Trafford so far.
Although the former Man Utd treble winner liked what he saw from Ten Hag in his first season as manager, he’s been disappointed with how things seem to have dipped again this term, and he can see the former Ajax boss being under pressure by the end of the campaign.
One issue, Yorke concedes, is he doesn’t see a lot of great options out there for MUFC, but he named Zidane as his preferred pick if there were to be a change in the dugout.
Zidane could command respect from this Man Utd dressing room, says Yorke
“If you were to weigh things up this season, you’ve got to say that if we don’t win the FA Cup, then this has been a hugely disappointing season,” Yorke said.
“Considering everything else that’s happened, the current league position and the failings in Europe, you’d have to think there would be some question marks around the manager in the summer.
“You’d need to look at successful and proven managers, first of all. People with strong characters, people who have a clear identity of the way in which they play. You need a big personality, because we know there are some big egos in that dressing room. That’s always the case at big clubs, so you have to have somebody who can manage that, while also implementing a certain playing philosophy.
“Players breaking rules and protocols… these things are non negotiable for a manager, and you have to instil that from the very beginning, and so you have to ask who would be able to come in and do all of the above.”
He added: “Maybe Zinedine Zidane. I would think he fits the bill most. None of these players know him, so when he comes in with his kind of profile, he commands that instant respect because everyone is basically on trial. For me, he’s probably the best fit.”
Zidane enjoyed great success as Real Madrid manager, notably winning three Champions League finals in a row, but it remains to be seen if the French tactician would attempt to lift this struggling side back to its former heights.
That would be a very different kind of challenge to the one he faced at the Bernabeu, while Jonathan Johnson has recently told CaughtOffside that he thinks Zizou will be keen to be France manager some day as his priority.
He has no experience of turning an average team into a great one. He would be a disaster.