United Legend Has Ingredients to Become Manager

Manchester United's Ryan Giggs will make a successful manager upon retirement, according to Reading boss Brian McDermott.

The 39-year-old is out of contract at United in the summer and is currently working towards his Uefa Pro Licence, having attended the second stage of the award at St George's Park last week.

Ahead of Reading's trip to Old Trafford to face United in the FA Cup fifth round, McDermott said Giggs possesses all the tools required to make it in top level management.

"I met him recently at Burton," McDermott said. "He was doing his pro licence and he has got all the ingredients to be a top manager.

"I was really impressed; he came up to me and shook my hand. He is humble and quiet. I asked him how many medals he had won.

"He was very modest and just said 12. I asked what he did with them all and he said they were in museums. He was a really polite man."

Both sides are battling at either end of the Premier League table; with United 12 points clear of champions Manchester City at the top while The Royals are in the bottom three, a point adrift of 17<sup>th place Aston Villa.

But McDermott is keen to continue the club's cup campaign but concedes that United are unlikely to take their foot off the gas despite their huge lead at the Premier League summit.

"They're 12 in front with 12 to go and [Sir Alex Ferguson] won't take anything for granted, there's no doubt about that," he added.

"To move on the way they did from last season, to take that hurt on to the pitch - that just tells you the power of the people there.

"That hurt that day would have given them a tough summer.

"We can relate to that in a small way because we had the play-off final defeat.

"You have two ways of going - you either go under as a club or get stronger. United have got stronger and we got stronger from our play-off final."

The winner of the fifth round tie will face either Middlesbrough or Chelsea in the quarter final for a place in the semi-final at Wembley.