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'It's a SHAMBLES' - Gary Neville blasts Man Utd for Ed Woodward and Rio Ferdinand talks
MANCHESTER UNITED legend Gary Neville insists the club’s chase for a sporting director is a “shambles” after their approaches of former players including Rio Ferdinand.
Former centre-back Ferdinand is among those being considered for a major role in the club’s hierarchy.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is looking to restructure the club this summer with Ferdinand eyed for a technical role while Darren Fletcher, Peter Schmeichel and Nemanja Vidic have also been spoken to.
Manchester United are keen to bring in a person in order to help ensure the club are focused on a long-term strategy with their current squad displaying the lack of such in recent years, given it is made up of a mix of players signed by Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
But Gary Neville did not hide his emotions in a lengthy rant about United’s current situation after Manchester City’s win over Leicester last night.
While United’s two arch rivals, Man City and Liverpool, are duking it out for the Premier League title the Red Devils’ draw with Huddersfield means they will not play in the Champions League next season.
Despite being one of the richest clubs in the world, United will have only been in the competition twice in the last five seasons as of next year.
And Neville insists that his former outfit’s approach to Ferdinand reflects their problems on and off the pitch.
Asked if Ed Woodward had called him by Sky Sports host Dave Jones, Neville declared: “No but Dave, the shambles of last week… this is why I’m going by the way, I’m gone. It takes a lot for me to criticise my own club.
It's a shambles
“How can it be that four players that who have never been businessmen, never managed a club, never coached, never been sporting directors, are put forward for this amazingly difficult role at the most difficult team at the biggest club in the world?
“It's a shambles.”
Neville feels that Woodward should be replaced in his role with United having failed in the seven years the 47-year-old has been a high-level chief at Old Trafford, failing to muster one real title challenge in that time.
And asked what he feels United can do to make progress next season given he does not foresee a title tilt for at least two seasons, Neville added: “Have eleven players on the pitch who want to play for the club, that’s a starting point, who want to be there, who run to the last minute of every single match.
Ferdinand ‘applied’ for role at Manchester United claims pundit
“That is a starting point. Off the pitch you can’t control, it’s always a starting point of every team.
“You’ve got a coaching group who love the club and who will die for the club. I know that for a fact.
“People might say they’re not this, they’re not that but what they will do, they’ll bleed the club, if you cut them open.
“My view is get a group of players in that dressing room who are aligned and want to do their very best for Manchester United and see it as a great football club.
“There are definitely five or six people in that dressing room that look to me at the moment like they don’t want to be there always.”