Wales' Ryan Giggs vows to give the kids a chance - like Manchester United did with him
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Ryan Giggs insists he will have no fear playing kids for Wales after his own ­stunning emergence as a teenager at Manchester United, writes James Nursey in Nanning .
The new Wales boss is preparing for his first game in charge of his country in the China Cup against the hosts here on Thursday.
It will also be the Old ­Trafford legend’s first game in permanent, full-time management.
He has previously been a coach at United under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal from 2013-2016.
Giggs took charge of United’s senior side for four games in April 2014 when he gave debuts to Tom Lawrence and James Wilson against Hull after Moyes was axed.
(Image: Getty)
He also helped coach ­Marcus Rashford, who made his debut in 2016 under Van Gaal after Anthony Martial got injured in the warm-up.
Giggs says he will ­always give youngsters a chance after making his United debut aged 17 in 1991 before going on to be PFA young player of the year twice.
Asked if he had any ­reservations about playing kids, Giggs said: “No. That is what I had, and even in my four games at United I gave Tom Lawrence his debut and James Wilson. I am not afraid to do that. I see it in training and then I want to see if they can do it on the pitch.
“It has never been a problem for me giving young players a chance.
(Image: AFP/Getty)
“Look at Marcus ­Rashford, I have seen him ­develop and he got a chance when someone got ­injured in the warm up.
“When I got my chance it was Lee Sharpe who got injured. I couldn’t see a way into the first team. Sharpey had won PFA young player of the year and he was playing for England. I was thinking he is in my position.
“You get a bit of ‘Unlucky for Sharpey, lucky for me’, but you take that chance.
“That is up to the young player – you give them a chance and they have to take it. The easy bit is getting in the team, the hard bit is staying in it.”
(Image: Daily Mirror)
Giggs was one of the ­Manchester United youngsters Alan Hansen was talking about in 1995 when he said “you can’t win anything with kids.
Alex Ferguson’s youth ­brigade of Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and David Beckham went on to win the league that ­season and Giggs ended up winning 13 Premier League ­titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and the League Cup three times during an ­incredible 24-year playing ­career.
Now as a boss is he excited about working with young Welsh talents in future such as David Brooks, Ben Woodburn and Ethan Ampadu.
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Only Woodburn has travelled to China but Giggs believes their emergence can also help the senior players.
His advice to kids breaking through is: “Don’t try to change anything - do exactly what you have been doing in your short life in your career and in the youth team.
“Young players as well as older players can give you that inspiration.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
“You go from getting a little bit of time on the ball in training to you have to up your game and you can’t take two or three touches because they are on you, they are aggressive and you are looking over your shoulder — 'He is after my position' — so you need to raise your game.
“That is what I want to emulate, that competitiveness in training.
“From the feedback I have got off Osian Roberts, that is the case when Brooks came in, Woodburn and Ampadu in the last squad. That is good to hear and I want to keep that going forward.”