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Giggs jokes that it was ‘easy’ to take over from David Moyes at Manchester United

Ryan Giggs has joked that it was ‘easy’ to take over from David Moyes as Manchester United manager during his brief spell in charge of the club.

The Manchester United legend was named as the club’s interim player-manager following Moyes’ sacking in 2014, overseeing the remainder of what would be his final campaign as a player in a management role.

Giggs would later work as assistant manager under Moyes’ permanent successor, Louis van Gaal, before going on to take up his current role as Wales manager.

The 45-year-old has now reflected on his brief spell in the Old Trafford dugout, joking that it was easy to take the role with the club lacking alternatives following a dismal campaign.

“It was pretty easy because there was no alternative, for a start,” Giggs jokingly told The Coaches’ Voice.

“But it was easy because it was only four games.

“I had good people around me joining the coaching staff; (Paul) Scholesy, Nicky (Butt), Phil (Neville), who had been a coach that season.

“The difficult part was I was still a player and I’m not picking some of my mates who I’ve shared a dressing room with for a long time.

“So that was the difficult part, and also I knew that it was going to be my last year as well so I wanted to enjoy it as a player which I probably never got to. But I got the chance to manage Manchester United.”

Despite the pressure of managing one of the world’s leading football clubs, Giggs said that his short spell in charge of his former side helped to prepare him for future roles in management.

“But nothing prepares you for being in that hotseat, being in the office after training, picking a team, the problems that you encounter with travel, organising times, players knocking on your door,” he added.

“Also, everything on the pitch – preparing them for training, picking the team. It was brilliant, it was an unbelievable experience.

“After we got beat by Sunderland 1-0 I knew I had the mentality to be a manager – after that defeat I had no problem not picking team-mates or friends, because they didn’t perform.”

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See also – 15 best quotes about Man Utd and Wales legend, Ryan Giggs