Park Ji-sung former Man Utd Team Player Predicts The Next Man Utd Manager
Park Ji-sung has predicted that Wayne Rooney, a former Manchester United teammate, will become the club’s next manager.
Rooney took on the role of player/manager at Championship side Derby County after departing MLS outfit D.C. United in 2020, before retiring from playing in January to focus on managing.
However, the 36-year-old has been coping with exceptionally challenging conditions at the Midlands club, which went into administration in September and was penalized by the English Football League with a 12-point deduction.
Derby was dealt yet another harsh blow earlier this week when they have penalized nine points for a breach of accounting standards, leaving them stranded to the bottom of the Championship table on minus three points, 14 points behind Barnsley in 23rd place.
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Despite his problems at Derby, Park, who played with Rooney at United from 2005 to 2012, believes the ex-England star has what it takes to become the club’s manager in the future.
‘I think Wayne will be able to pull it off. Park told GOAL, “He had tremendous experiences from a young age, and he also had many difficult periods in his career that he eventually overcame.”
‘Without a doubt, he is a fantastic leader.’ As a result, I feel he has the potential to become United’s manager in the future.’
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing rising pressure to keep his job after the team has won only one of their previous six Premier League games, leaving them in sixth place in the table.
Park, on the other hand, believes that the Norwegian CEO should be given more time to correct the situation.
‘It’s been three years since Solskjaer took over as manager, and I believe this season will determine whether he stays at the club,’ he continued.
‘I think he deserves credit for what he’s accomplished at United, and he deserves to battle [for his job] until the end of the season, but he has to show he can go on after that.’
‘He did a good job of restoring the old United spirit and culture to us.’
‘Before him, we had Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, both of whom had world-class coaching reputations, but it didn’t work out, so I believe United learned from those experiences and that they were essential in the decision to keep Solskjaer [after the Liverpool and City defeats].’
But the most significant question is whether he can compete with the top managers in the world, such as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and Thomas Tuchel.
‘As a result, I feel we should wait until the end of the season to see what happens.’ But it will be impossible for him to continue if he cannot demonstrate [that he is capable].’
