Manager Paul Scholes wanted to take Man Utd job torn apart by his ex-player – 'Egotistical'

Paul Scholes suggested Ralph Hasenhuttl for the Manchester United job three years ago following the departure of Ralf Rangnick, but Ryan Bertrand was far from pleased by his management style at Southampton.

Rangnick was appointed interim Red Devils manager in November 2021 in the wake of the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, he only lasted until the end of the season following a dismal campaign at Old Trafford which culminated in a sixth-place finish with an at the time club-record low of 58 points.

Despite a four-year career with the Saints culminating in a 2021/22 relegation battle before his dismissal, Scholes saw Hasenhuttl as the perfect fit for United given his style of play. Speaking to BT Sport in 2022, Scholes said: "I've always liked the football he plays at Southampton with not the best squad.

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"The type of football has worked for them. His teams have been good to watch; I think it comes across really well. I think people around this club, and fans especially, are thinking more of possibly [Mauricio] Pochettino or an Antonio Conte and what people have been at the bigger clubs.

"The more I think about it, I don't think [going for Hasenhuttl] would be a bad thing. The way he goes about his business, he looks good."

United ultimately appointed Erik ten Hag as new head coach ahead of 2022/23, with Hasenhuttl enduring a two-year lay-off before taking up tenure with VfL Wolfsburg in 2024. While Scholes saw the 57-year-old as an ideal fit for the club that the former midfielder still holds close to home, Bertrand's first opinions of Hasenhuttl were far from stellar.

The now retired left-back spent six years at St Mary's, making 240 appearances before parting ways for Leicester City in 2021. And while he played under Hasenhuttl for the final three years of his tenure in Southampton, the 35-year-old didn't see eye-to-eye with him as he took up tenure.

Speaking on the podcast, Bertrand said: "To be honest, I have a lot of respect for him, and I actually really like him. He's a really good guy, but at the start when he come in, he come in fully egotistical.

"Thinking anyone 30-plus or 28-plus is like the enemy cause they can't learn new things. It's his way or the highway, everyone needs to listen, there's no talking back. And it was like, 'You need feedback, cause I've been with a lot of managers that have done a little bit more than what you do and they listen to people, and this is how you survive in the Premier League.'

"But I think he sensed that and he was so paranoid of other people perhaps making him look like he's not the number one. Confusing feedback for talking back, he was so authoritarian approach. This way, that way."

Bertrand also recalled how his reaction to one game in particular also caused friction between himself and Hasenhuttl, claiming that he saw himself demoted from the starting XI and phased out in favour of players who weren't even natural left-backs.

Bertrand explained how the Saints were losing a game and he was substituted off in the dying moments despite being an attacking full-back and the team in need of a goal, a move which baffled him.

But when he approached Hasenhuttl to ask on his theory behind the substitution, he claims that the manager became defensive before freezing him out. He added: "He was a bit hostile and was like,' You know, it was just a decision that I made,' and I was like, 'Alright, no problem.'

"And I left the room, and then after that we just never spoke. He was playing people like Moussa Djenepo, he was playing him left-back. He was playing Kevin Danso left-back...like centre-backs left-back, wingers left-back, anything to kind of provoke a reaction out of me.

"But I wouldn't because I want to win. It's fine, if you want to play that it's no problem. I'll just train every day and didn't kind of say nothing."

Bertrand then spoke to a director at Southampton to ask what was Hasenhuttl's issue, only to be told that the manager wasn't happy with the substitution incident. However, Bertrand claimed that towards the end of his tenure at St Mary's, that Hasenhuttl turned things around and changed his approach to football management, actively engaging with players more and coming across more friendly.

He explained: "Towards the end he went full circle. And he slowly, slowly... he ended up going 360. Ended up being more personable, talking to everyone, trying to be people's best mate, had more of a character. And I just thought, 'You weren't worth my time,' because that moment at the start, he was very disrespectful."

He added: "From the early days of respect was a one way street with him, and then coming back and then killing my game, and then needed me to stay. Why would I stay?"

Bertrand made the move to Leicester City in a free transfer in 2021, making just 11 appearances for the Foxes before announcing his retirement from football in June 2024.

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