English FA Premiership: Alex Ferguson has not been sacked yet but hungry eyes are fixed on his post at Old Trafford. PSV Eindhoven's Guus Hiddink may be the best equipped of those candidates and his agent's words yesterday heightened the speculation.
Cees van Nieuwenhuizen offered a "no comment" when asked if there had been any contact between him and Manchester United. His client's enthusiasm for a prized job was also signalled. "Guus is always interested to hear from top clubs in Europe and he considers Manchester United certainly to be one of them," said Van Nieuwenhuizen. Hiddink is evidently restless in Dutch football.
He is the coach of Australia as well as PSV and was at yesterday's World Cup draw in Leipzig. At the last World Cup he took the hosts South Korea to the last four. It is his track record in club football, though, which should interest United's owners, the Glazer family. He is on course for a second Dutch title in the three seasons since he returned to PSV.
More relevantly still for United, his team pushed Milan to the limit in the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. This week he guided the team through to the knockout phase of the tournament - and he won the European Cup with PSV in 1988.
As a fluent English speaker, Hiddink also has an advantage over candidates such as the Juventus coach Fabio Capello. His contract in Eindhoven is supposed to run until 2007, but he appears to be preparing to depart. "He is committed to PSV until the end of the season," his agent said meaningfully.
Everton's manager David Moyes has revealed how a phone call from Ferguson helped him through his darkest moment in football management. Having seen his side eliminated from the Champions League and Uefa Cup, and struggling near the foot of the Premiership table, Moyes was in despair before the unexpected call from the United manager lifted his spirits.
Everton travel to Old Trafford tomorrow and now it is Ferguson who is in trouble. "It's incredible to see people criticising Sir Alex," said Moyes, who remains quietly optimistic of capturing United's former captain Roy Keane during next month's transfer window. "When I was going through a bad time he was one of the first to phone me up. I did appreciate the call, but I won't be phoning him. There is nothing I can tell him; he's a wise man."
Guardian Service
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