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EPL icon Ryan Giggs delivered some insight on his change of role upon Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement and David Moyes' arrival. The Welshman is one of the greatest ever players to play for Manchester United and has made 963 appearances for the club across all competitions.
Giggs was at the end of his tenure as an EPL player in the 2013/14 season. However, at the start of his final season, he was appointed as a player-coach as part of the new regime under Sir Alex's successor David Moyes. Despite this, EPL legend revealed that he wanted to focus on his final season and didn't conduct training sessions.
Giggs opens up on his final EPL season
Speaking on the adaptation period during his final EPL season and his changing relationship with the players, Giggs began,
"It was a little bit different. I was already 39-40 so did I have anything in common with the younger players? Not really. But obviously when you're in the dressing room you're still teammates."
He revealed that he was still in the process of earning his managerial licence while he got the offer from EPL veteran Moyes to join the staff. He recalls thinking to himself that this could be the next step and accepted the Scot's offer. He continued,
"It was difficult because I was actually earning my pro licence in Turkey when David Moyes rang me and asked to come on as a coach. I said this could be my last season and I really wanted to concentrate on my last season. But I also realised this could be the next step for me so I took it."
The EPL's record assist holder revealed that he wasn't as involved in conducting training sessions despite being a player-coach. He reiterated that he wanted to focus on his routine and play because it was the end of one of the most illustrious careers in football history. Giggs commented,
"I was actually really a player, I didn't take one session of training because I was playing. I would be involved in meetings especially early on in training but even then that got difficult because I had to arrive an hour and a half early. So yeah, overall my relationship with players didn't really change."
Giggs would go on to manage four games as the head coach of Manchester United after David Moyes' sacking. This interim period would see him lead the EPL giants two wins, a draw and a loss in his four games in charge.
Upon Louis van Gaal's appointment at the helm of the EPL club, the Dutchman offered to keep Giggs on as part of his coaching staff. The Welshman stayed on for the two years of Van Gaal's tenure as his assistant.
After the former Barcelona manager was sacked, Giggs eyed the head coach position once again and received glowing recommendations for it. He was reportedly even earmarked by Van Gaal himself for the job.
However, a José Mourinho return to EPL management saw him preferred to Giggs, who then departed the club in search of senior managerial experience.
