Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes Pep Guardiola will need time to adapt to Premier League football when he takes charge of Manchester City in July but has tipped the Spaniard to be a success.
Guardiola has won numerous trophies in Spain and Germany with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively but Ferguson feels the English game, known for its fast-paced and physically demanding nature, will pose a completely different challenge.
“Without question Pep has got a fantastic work ethic about him. He has got great coaching ability, there is no doubt about that. Man City have made a real coup in getting him,” the 13-time league champion told British media.
“But Pep won’t find it easy, English football is not easy. Every foreign coach that has come to England will tell you that.
“Arsene Wenger was talking about that a few months after coming and even Jose Mourinho was.”
Meanwhile, the Scot has tipped Leicester, who have a five-point cushion over second-placed Tottenham with seven games left to play, to win their first ever league title.
“Leicester have got the bit between their teeth, they’ve been the best team without question throughout the season and they deserve to win it,” he said.
“I only see Tottenham being a danger to Leicester.”
Ferguson has sprung to the defence of Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal and urged fans to be patient during the club’s current tribulations.
Despite being only a point off the top four in sixth place and a replay away from a Wembley FA Cup semi-final, United exited the Champions League after the group stage, were knocked out of the Europa League by Liverpool and lost to Middlesbrough in the League Cup.
There has been growing unrest among large sections of the fans but Ferguson insists they should not be too quick to judge.
“It is dead easy to be critical,” he told Sky Sports. “You have to be realistic about some things – the number of injuries he has had: Phil Jones has played only seven games, Ashley Young, (Antonio) Valencia, (Luke) Shaw, these are big losses.
“It doesn’t matter which team you are, if you have players missing of that calibre it has to have an impact on the team.
“The other aspect which is always easy to forget there are also five new players in their first season at United, and two are young players in (Anthony) Martial and Memphis (Depay) and their promise is good.
“You have to have some patience being a Manchester United fan.
“For 150 years of history it is worth having a couple of years on the quiet side of success because they will always come back strong.”