Veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs is appointed interim manager of EPL club Manchester United, shortly after they announced the sacking of David Moyes following a disappointing season
Ryan Giggs, David Moyes
London: Veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs was on Tuesday appointed interim manager of Manchester United, shortly after the club announced the sacking of David Moyes.
"Following the departure of David Moyes as manager, Manchester United has announced that Ryan Giggs, the club's most decorated player, will assume responsibility for the first team until a permanent appointment can be made," read a statement on the United website.
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Ryan Giggs and David Moyes. Pic/ AFP
"The club will make no further comment on this process until it is concluded."
Giggs, 40, made his United debut in March 1991 and has made a record 962 appearances for the club, winning 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups, four League Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.
He has no previous managerial experience, but has combined his role as a player with a position on United's coaching staff since the start of the current campaign.
Earlier today, manager David Moyes has left English Premier League team Manchester United, the club announced on their Twitter account.
After a day of speculation in the British media, the Premier League giants confirmed the Scot's departure in a brief statement on their Twitter account.
"Manchester United announces that David Moyes has left the club," United said. "The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role."
Rumours of Moyes's imminent departure began to swirl on Monday, with the club refusing to comment when asked if he was facing the sack.
British newspaper reports on Tuesday said that Moyes had been informed of his fate during an early-morning meeting with chief executive Ed Woodward at the club's Carrington training ground.
Current player-coach Ryan Giggs is reportedly set to be announced as interim manager later on Tuesday.
United host Norwich City on Saturday in the first of their four remaining league games this season.
Louis van Gaal, the current Netherlands coach, has been installed as the favourite to succeed Moyes on a permanent basis by British bookmakers, with Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund another rumoured contender.
Louis Van Gaal. Pic/ Getty Images
Ferguson, British football's most successful manager, personally hand-picked Moyes to succeed him after announcing his retirement last May following 26 and a half trophy-studded years at Old Trafford.
Moyes inherited a team that had romped to the Premier League title -- United's 20th English league crown -- by 11 points, but he endured a torrid debut campaign.
- 'Worse and worse' -
United have slumped to seventh place in the league table and been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions and the Champions League.
Moyes's last game in charge was a 2-0 loss at his former club Everton, which confirmed that United will not compete in the Champions League next season for the first time since 1995.
The defeat, United's 11th of the league campaign, left the defending champions 13 points below the Champions League places and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool.
They face a struggle even to qualify for the second-tier Europa League, lying six points below sixth-place Tottenham Hotspur with four matches to play.
Of their league defeats, six have come at home, and there have been demoralising home-and-away losses to arch rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as Everton.
Moyes's transfer dealings proved equally disappointing, with £27.5 million ($46.2 million, 33.5 million euros) midfielder Marouane Fellaini, signed from Everton, and £37.1 million record signing Juan Mata, who arrived from Chelsea in January, struggling to make an impact.
As a result, United's American owners, the Glazer family, reportedly felt uneasy about the prospect of handing him the funds needed to rebuild the squad during the forthcoming close season.
Former United player Gary Neville, now a television pundit and England coach, said that while he was disappointed by the decision, Moyes's struggles had left the club in a difficult position.
"I think it could have been dealt with a whole lot better," Neville told Sky Sports News.
"I believe in managers being given time. However, there's no disguising that the football this season has been poor and the results have been poor. The performances have got worse and worse."
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