IRELAND legend Johnny Giles has launched a scathing attack on his old club Manchester United for their handling of Jose Mourinho’s appointment in place of Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho was confirmed as the club’s new manager on Friday morning after Dutchman van Gaal was dismissed on Monday, two days after leading United to FA Cup glory.
However, while Giles – who played for United between 1957 and 1963 – admits van Gaal deserved to be sacked for his underwhelming performance over his two seasons in charge, he believes the club handled the affair without dignity.
In his column with The Herald, Giles labels United ‘a disgrace’ and ‘a shambles’ for their conduct since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in a strongly worded piece which hit the shelves in Ireland on Friday morning.
Manchester United are a disgrace. I can think of no other word which does justice to the depth of feeling I have about the way this club has behaved in the last few years.
The way they handled Louis van Gaal's exit, in fact the way they have handled everything since Alex Ferguson retired, has been a shambles.
From David Moyes' sacking through to the absolute farce which executive vice chairman Ed Woodward has presided over in the transfer market for the last few years, this club has acted without any class.
I always hear people talking about 'the United way' as if the club has standards which have to be met and perhaps that is true when you're talking about the football but off the field, they have nothing to boast about.
...Van Gaal had to go but there was a right and wrong way to do it. They chose the wrong way, as they did with Moyes...
...even if Mourinho will have an easier task than Pep Guardiola is facing across town at the Etihad with Manchester City, he has his work cut out to stitch together a team capable of challenging for anything next season.
But at least Van Gaal behaved professionally. In a few years’ time, we'll see how Mourinho gets on when he's at the other end of the equation.
Mourinho, 53, has penned a three-year deal with Manchester United and arrives at Old Trafford with an impressive CV that boasts three Premier League titles, a La Liga title and two Champions League successes.
