Gary Neville has warned Zinedine Zidane to make sure he has 'his own ground rules' and the 'correct' support around him if he takes the Manchester United job, else he will fail to succeed.
The Frenchman has been installed as the favourite to replace Jose Mourinho, who was sacked on Tuesday morning, and is currently unattached.
Zidane enjoyed three remarkable years as Real Madrid manager, becoming the first coach to win three successive Champions League titles, before walking away from the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of last season.
He has continued to be linked with the Manchester United job since leaving Real, particularly with Mourinho struggling to get the best out of his players this season.
While Neville's preferred choice of manager is Mauricio Pochettino, he accepts that he 'couldn't argue' with the appointment of Zidane, however, he warned the 1998 World Cup winner over the perils of taking the top job at Old Trafford.
'Zinedine Zidane has won three European Cups in the last four seasons,' Neville told Sky Sports. 'From that point of view, I don't think anyone could argue with his pedigree.
'He's been world class on the pitch, he's been world class in the dugout at Real Madrid. He wouldn't be my choice in the sense I would choose Mauricio Pochettino... but on the other hand you couldn't argue with the introduction of Zinedine Zidane because of his record in the past four years.
'What I would say at this moment in time, any manager coming into that football club needs to make sure they come in with their own ground rules. Make sure the support around them is correct or they won't succeed.
'If Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham are buying better players, getting the first in on players, a better recruitment department and better support network, then they'll still do better.
'Clubs outspent United for many, many years 10, 12 years ago and Manchester United were still winning leagues. It's not always about the amount of money you throw at it, there needs to be something more than that.'
Comments