Sir Alex Ferguson says Ryan Giggs should be offered the permanent job as manager of Manchester United, according to report in The Guardian newspaper.

Giggs understands the ethos of the club better than any living person save Ferguson himself, and as the most decorated player in the history of the Premier League will lead by example.

Ferguson stated:

“I think that he [Giggs] is the one man they should go to, really,” Ferguson said at a fundraising dinner in Manchester this week. “He’s got 20-odd years of experience at Manchester United. I signed him as a kid at 13 years of age. He’s gone through the gamut of emotions at the club – he’s experienced all the highs and lows. He knows exactly what’s needed to be a Manchester United player and I was so pleased he brought Paul Scholes back in, and Nicky Butt of course – two great professionals.

“They understand the club, they are hard workers, they are straight as a die. So you have got the right combinations there, there’s no doubt about that.”

The names tossed around by the press as potential full-time successors to David Moyes, who was sacked on Tuesday, are the usual assortment of continental names whom may or may not be successful in English football.

Manchester United’s identity is at stake. Hire an older foreign manager and the Red Devils become like any other club starting a conveyor belt of continentals with no previous ties to the club. Like the club’s great current rivals, they will simply be attracting a mercenary as the top man. The other alternative is to elevate Giggs permanently and let him fill out his backroom staff with capable people who are knowledgeable about English football whether or not they are connected previously to United or not.

Naming Giggs as the full-time manager ensures United’s principles and heritage will remain at the center of the the football club’s future.