Ryan Giggs has revealed that he broke down in tears after completing his four-match stint as Manchester United's caretaker manager.
Giggs replaced David Moyes after the Scot was sacked in April and oversaw two wins, a draw and a defeat during the course of his brief tenure. The final game of the season was a 1-1 Premier League draw at Southampton, after which the United squad flew back to Manchester.
"We got off the plane at Manchester airport. I was saying goodbye to the players, thanking them, potentially saying goodbye to a lot of players for the last time," said Giggs.
"I'm not a really emotional person but my car was parked right outside and I thought, 'I need to get in my car here.' I could feel myself getting emotional. So I got in my car and I just started crying, started getting really emotional.
"I think it was just a mixture of saying goodbye to people for maybe the last time and the pressure that I put myself under. Sounds stupid now, but it's just not me, it's just not me at all."
Giggs was talking as part of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, Life of Ryan: Caretaker Manager, about his time in charge at Old Trafford, to be shown on ITV tonight.
It shows a visibly tiring Giggs struggling to deal with the all-consuming nature of the manager's job. He confesses to not sleeping and constantly pondering how he should fill the substitutes' bench in order to change the course of a game in the best way.
It also shows his team talk ahead of the Southampton game where he exhorts players to end a season where "f***ing City or Liverpool win the league" on a high.
"It's been a whirlwind and I wouldn't change it for the world," he said of his first taste of management. "It was just a brilliant experience and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I will be all the better for the next time it happens."
After the home defeat by Sunderland on May 3 he describes feeling "angrier and angrier" over his players' performances.
"I felt really, really down after Sunderland," he said. "As a manager you feel defeats a lot worse."
Giggs will return to Old Trafford next season as an assistant to the new manager, Louis van Gaal, a move he sees as an "exciting new beginning".
"I met Louis and the meeting went really well," said the 40-year-old. "I liked him instantly and I'm looking forward to working with him and learning from him."
Belfast Telegraph
No comments:
Post a Comment