United confirm Giggs as temporary manager; Klopp rules himself out

Ryan Giggs will assume responsibility for first-team affairs at Manchester United until a permanent manager is appointed, the club have announced.

United confirm Giggs as temporary manager; Klopp rules himself out

Ryan Giggs will assume responsibility for first-team affairs at Manchester United until a permanent manager is appointed, the club have announced.

United will also try to move quickly to install a permanent replacement for Moyes.

It is understood that Holland boss Louis van Gaal is the favourite to take over, but another potential candidate in Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp looks to be out of the picture.

Klopp wasted little time in ruling himself out of the Manchester United job.

The 46-year-old told The Guardian: “Man United is a great club and I feel very familiar with their wonderful fans. But my commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is not breakable.”

Klopp agreed a new contract at the Bundesliga club until 2018 back in October and said last week that he was “still in love” with Dortmund.

Moyes’ miserable reign as Manchester United manager came to an end today, sacked less than one season into the job.

Moyes signed a six-year deal with the Red Devils when he succeeded the retiring Sir Alex Ferguson last summer, but the former Everton boss’ time at Old Trafford has been cut short towards the end of a hugely disappointing opening campaign which sees the reigning champions currently languishing in seventh place in the Barclays Premier League.

United are determined not to make the same mistake as last season when Moyes did not take over until the start of July, meaning a big chunk of the transfer window had already passed.

Van Gaal’s credentials make it clear why he is the clear front-runner.

He has won Spanish league titles with Barcelona, and with Bayern Munich he reached the 2010 Champions League final as well as winning the Bundesliga. With Ajax, he won the Champions League in 1995.

He is also used to working with big-name players and attracting big signings - neither of which were part of Moyes’ track record.

Van Gaal has also made it clear that he will be looking to move on from being Holland head coach after the World Cup.

Klopp has been touted as a candidate for the top jobs in European football, most recently as the next Barcelona head coach, but he has made it clear he is staying at Dortmund.

Bookmakers have slashed the odds on Van Gaal from 8-1 to clear 11-4 favourite.

Ladbrokes odds: 11-4 Louis Van Gaal, 4-1 Jurgen Klopp, 6-1 Ryan Giggs, 12-1 Pep Guardiola, 14-1 Diego Simeone, 16-1 Jose Mourinho, 16-1 Roberto Martinez, 16-1 Sir Alex Ferguson, 16-1 Frank De Boer, 16-1 Carlos Queiroz.

Here, we look at some of the possible contenders to replace him.

JURGEN KLOPP

Klopp has certainly caught the eye on the European stage in recent years, guiding his dynamic Borussia Dortmund side to the Champions League final in 2012/13 off the back of the Bundesliga titles they won under him in each of the previous two seasons. The German is a charismatic, young coach and would surely prove a popular choice among United fans.

LOUIS VAN GAAL

The Holland coach has a vast amount of top-level experience and success on his CV, having previously been in charge of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Ajax, and has been heavily linked with both United and Tottenham of late.

DIEGO SIMEONE

Another youthful coach who has rapidly risen to prominence over the past few seasons, former Argentina international Simeone led Atletico Madrid to the Europa League title in 2012 and has overseen their run to the Champions League semi-finals this campaign, while they are also currently leading the Primera Division ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

LAURENT BLANC

Blanc won the Ligue 1 title as Bordeaux coach and looks set to secure it again this term with Paris St Germain, having had a stint in charge of the France national team in between. The fact that he spent time at Manchester United at the end of his playing career would likely count in his favour in terms of how he would be perceived by the club’s supporters.

RYAN GIGGS

There are few players as revered among the Old Trafford faithful as the 40-year-old Welsh midfielder, who is already part of the current United coaching staff on top of being a squad member. There would be considerable goodwill towards him from fans if he were to land the top job, but he lacks management experience. He is set to be appointed as interim manager until the end of the season.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON

The 72-year-old Scot, who has stayed on at the club as a director since finishing as manager, returning to the hot seat so soon after selecting Moyes to be his successor would certainly be interesting. Whether Ferguson would even entertain the idea is very much up for debate, as is the issue of what his comeback would mean for United in the long-term, given the age-old question of ’how do you replace Fergie?’ would be straight back on the agenda. Red Devils fans would take considerable comfort from the sight of their most successful boss in the dugout again, though.

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