Louis Saha Exclusive: Wayne Rooney has what it takes to manage in the Premier League

Louis Saha spoke to BettingOdds.com yesterday. The ex-Manchester United striker discussed Wayne Rooney's suitability for a future managerial job in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's comments about advising Manchester United to sign Erling Haaland while he was manager of the club, Marcus Rashford's recent Players' Tribune article and Man United's continued pursuit of Victor Osimhen.

Last week, Wayne Rooney said he dreams of managing Manchester United or Everton in the next 10 years. Do you think he has what it takes to bounce back from what was a tough spell at Birmingham to manage in the Premier League in the future?

"I think he does have what is required to manage, but I think Wayne Rooney will love to manage one of these teams because he’s able to actually be successful there. It comes with a massive pressure. It comes with a lot of responsibilities. These are things that you know as a player, but that he will know now with his short career in management. 

You might understand as a manager of Manchester United that it’s such a big step. And he’s never had such a club to manage. The target is to be successful at that club. It’s almost two different things. We have seen some managers who have the pedigree, who have been successful at other clubs, but they don’t do it here. It is about getting the right time to do it. Getting the right people or the right players to do it. There’s a lot of factors.

I’m sure that he can because he has the mentality, the drive, and all that. But as he can realise, this job is really hard and he’s had some experiences of that and that’s difficult. That’s a hell of a job. I wish that he can fulfill his dream but that’s going to be a tough one to overcome. The kind of mistakes that he’s done and the necessary attraction that your name brings into the job as well, so there’s a lot of stuff. But definitely I wish him the best on that."

Another former United player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, claimed that United twice ignored his advice to sign Erling Haaland while he was manager of the club. Do you think United would be challenging for the title under Solskjaer now had they signed Haaland at the time?

"I don’t know and I don’t think he is giving anything back to the club or to the situation, so it’s good for the journalist but what does it change? It’s like, yeah of course when you look at the player now and what he’s doing with Man City, with the players that he’s got around him and with the manager he’s playing under, yes, all those things can be said but we will never know. That’s the problem. Maybe he would have been injured after five minutes and had a completely different career.

This is the story of Man City. It’s good for them but Ole coming out with this kind of statement is frustrating because yes of course he’s a great player that we missed out on and he showed that maybe whatever the decision that has been taken at the time was not the right one but that’s it.

It’s all about frustration. We have to move on. As a club, fans don’t need this. It wouldn’t provide anything good. I won’t say he would have been a success. I just think that it’s a sign that the decision hadn’t been taken seriously at the time and whatever. Maybe there was a discussion with agents. You will never know. That’s the situation in football."

What have you made of Marcus Rashford’s recent Players’ Tribune article responding to criticism from the media? Do you think he was right to make his point in this way and give his side of the whole story?

You know, he's a human being and he has his own ways. He’s a very introverted guy. Doesn’t speak much. Doesn’t show much sometimes, so that’s a bit of criticism that he’s getting and that he will get over his career because that’s the type of player he is. He will attract people talking and trying to tell him what to do and how to do it, especially when he’s not doing great. So that’s the situation. This interview is good for us to actually know what he’s thinking about, why he’s done those things.

The type of position that he’s taking is not for me to judge about whether he’s right or wrong. I prefer him to talk and speak his mind than not talk. I prefer him to say it on the pitch. I do think that the most important thing if you want to defend your identity and things like this then it’s always better to prove people wrong on the field because whatever you’re going to say people will always say you made a wrong quote there or justification there. I don’t think it’s bad but I don’t think it does provide anything for the fans. Those fans they just want Marcus Rashford to play at his best. That’s it. They don’t really care about the justification and all that. And that’s something he will have to understand.

That’s the problem of this talent and of this club as well. There are very demanding fans. They want their best players to play at their best. That’s it. Whatever you’re doing outside they don’t care. If you do go outside and you do your things and party, or whatever, and you score a hattrick every week, I’m telling you people invite you to parties. So it’s all about results. People want to see someone who represents them, fights for them, gets the kind of emotion they want to see and if you are the best player and the one who everybody believes can change a game by just turning up then they will ask a lot.

They didn’t ask me that. They asked Ruud, they asked Wayne, they asked Cristiano Ronaldo because they were the best players. And you have to understand that whatever he is going to do is going to be scrutinised. And that’s the reality. You have to face that and say oh this is a different job than I’m not going to say Bruno Fernandes but another player. But for me and many fans Marcus Rashford is the best player we have. And that is a different job than another player. It’s a different job than Scott McTominay or Varane. They are great players but they are not the best players.

For me, Marcus represents the best player in the squad. And for that, he comes with massive responsibilities. Cristiano knows about it. Wayne Rooney knows about it. That’s the reality. David Beckham knew about it. All those big players come with a different job, and you have to understand that you can’t just move around like you don’t have any weight on your shoulders. It’s a massive weight.

You mentioned Rasmus Hojlund earlier. United have been repeatedly linked with Victor Osimhen in recent transfer windows. Do you think they should still press ahead with trying to sign him or would his presence hinder Hojlund’s progress?

"No I think that if what I see in the last few games where you can see where a player with massive character is still young but you can see his energy is growing and his confidence is growing, then the competition will be another step. This is a club where you should have almost three to four fighting because you have really good qualities at the very, very top. Basically, if you don’t score at the weekend, another one is going to do it. That is about the stat that we need. We stopped for at least something like seven or eight games without scoring at the front of the line, so Garnacho, Bruno, Rashford, Anthony Martial, Rasmus, weren’t scoring goals. That’s not possible.

You can’t maintain that pressure on Man City or Liverpool without having that kind of pressure internally in terms of players saving you when you’re not playing well as a team or as a squad. You have no top players who are able to score from any bad situation, that is not the case. Osimhen could represent that. He is very consistent. He is playing in one of the toughest leagues in the world for strikers. I heard he is a big fan of Man Utd, so definitely I understand why he is always having his name thrown into that list.

I do see this as a step forward for Rasmus to score from 10 goals to maybe 20 goals because of the competition with someone who is actually going to show him other moves, other relaxed ways of approaching games. There is definitely benefit from that. And you have maybe players who will move on as well, so it’s a different season. All of these things you can look forward as a striker because competition means that you are playing at the biggest club in the world and definitely it’s good to have pressure because when you stay in your comfort zone that’s not good for improvement."

So the likes of Christian Eriksen, Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial are being tipped to leave United this summer. Do you think that any of these players could still turn their United careers around or should the club be looking to move on?

"It’s always possible. Those guys are good players, international ones. They have qualities that any club would like. So it depends on them. When they have the chance, they have to prove. It won’t be the case for one or two of them, but they definitely have their shot sometimes and they have to take it. But considering what happened in the last two years, for some of them I think it’s going to be really, really difficult, and not really a sign of moving on.

We have to actually have a sign from the INEOS management that things are going forwards. It will be about sometimes departures, sometimes signing new players, sometimes re-signing to give some players the confidence back. So there is a lot of elements when the season will start. I think that we will see a bit more of those decisions having a great effect on the stability, on the confidence, and that’s the thing, there are a few games left for those players to show something. Some are not even in the squad, so they can’t do anything about it.

In the case of Jadon Sancho, they have the image. The atmosphere I say wasn’t great when the player was there. It was a situation that the manager had to have pretty much every week, and that’s not great for establishing something with stability, with confidence. Approaching big games, and let’s say games that you have to win, you have to have a very calm camp and that was not the case. Those things are very important. You have to have a good amount of players who are happy, who are ready to fight, and who don’t think about their future every weekend because their manager or their agent is saying something in their ear. You have to be very stable and very, very strong as a unit. And that hasn’t been the case for many, many years now."

Are there any areas of the squad that you feel Man United need to prioritise this summer in terms of buying and selling players?

"I think that if you have the opportunity to look at the kind of links that the players have, you know, we have to understand that the mentality where guys can be pushed and react correctly with criticism where they are happy to go through a season maybe not playing every game. How is the state of the character of the team and the players. And when you have sorted that, when the management have sorted that, they can say ok we can’t make those mistakes again, having a camp disrupted, they have to dissect and make sure that the players are happy to go to war.

That’s it. And from that, you can see that it could be on every line. They have to be challenged and to go back to that situation where the players understand their roles. When I look at Scott McTominay at the start of the season, he understood that he may not play all of the games but he’s a great example. Like Maguire, those guys are great examples. They are ready to fight. And they’ve never been in the press saying one bad word. We need more players like this in some way in every line. Happy to fight and are happy to show that they have the quality to actually play week-in-week-out because they deserve it, and they work hard.

This is the Man United spirit. I really miss this. Where there is more individual attitude in some way that has been dominating the debate. This is where it’s up front or in midfield, we need more creativity, more legs, more quality with players who are able to create things 1-v-1. This is very important. Defensively we’ve had many injuries, so maybe we have to find a way to get those guys really fit or get some players who are able to do four or five years with us in this situation. It can happen depending on the style of play sometimes. You don’t get into 50 challenges as much as before when you’re struggling tactically. It all depends on that."

Erik ten Hag’s job is under a lot of scrutiny at the moment, and there are even reports of the new ownership planning to sack him in the summer. Do you feel that this would be the right decision and are there any managers that you would bring in if they do sack him?

"It’s a difficult one. As I said he’s doing what he can with the squad that he has. Yes, some have been his players, some have been his decisions, so he has to take responsibility. But the INEOS group in some way have to look at the progress that we have made and they have to show confidence and the capacity to work on the potential that this guy has.

Still, he can improve. He has to recognise his mistakes and he has to rectify some of the things that he has done. Basically, let’s see how it goes. Looking at the names that can be brought in won’t be serving any good. I’m here to protect because I’m a fan. I can throw names out there of managers who can do well, but at this moment of time I am very happy with Erik ten Hag. I still think he must improve in some departments. Maybe his staff need to improve as well, to be a bit more supportive on how to implement his philosophy on players. There are some gaps even if we have improved. I don’t think I am going to go into that discussion by putting any names on the table."

Last week, Alan Shearer said that he thinks England should play both Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane at the Euros this summer. Do you think England could benefit from playing both strikers or can Kane lead the line on his own?

"Both possibilities are good. I think we’ve seen that a change of formation, especially going forward when you have Bellingham playing with those two guys, it can work because it brings the legs that you need. And when you have this talent, the better movement you have in front of him, it can be really hard to mark. So the solution is about how to mix things up depending on the games you’re facing. Definitely having Watkins as an option is great. Watkins has shown that he is capable of providing a lot of guarantees, as much as you like, when you’re playing with Harry Kane.

Harry Kane is a top, top player, who is capable of scoring the obvious goal and the difficult one. Sometimes he brings people in, and I think the biggest asset that the England squad have is not Harry Kane anymore as I look at it, but Bellingham for me is one of those who is unbelievable. If you have those two up front then I think it makes sense. I do look at things a bit old-school.

When you want to be unpredictable you have to have different assets in front. When you have one player who maybe needs people around him to play, it will be less unpredictable and maybe that’s the issue we have seen. When we played England we saw France really nullified the capacity of Harry Kane to bring people in and that was very dangerous. He was better at Tottenham when he was with Son because he was able to make different runs and that made him very hard to catch. That’s why I think it could be a very interesting option."

Alongside Watkins and Kane, should England be looking to take any other strikers to the Euros or do you think someone like Anthony Gordon could fill in as a spare striker in emergencies?

"There are always surprises when you go to competitions. Managers always tend to bring somebody who is unknown at international level. Sometimes they provide that surprise effect. I remember back in 2006 when we brought Ribery and nobody knew him. He exploded everything. The same for Wayne Rooney back in 2004. He arrived and destroyed France because nobody knew him, so those factors could be very interesting for Anthony Gordon or other players.

When you need that unpredictability in a tournament it’s very useful. Those guys have the extra motivation, they don’t come with ego. They’re just happy to be there. And when they are provided the opportunity they surprise everybody. It’s a good asset that Southgate needs to think about."

And what do you make of France’s chances at the Euros this summer?

"It’s a bit of an odd one. I don’t think that there is a favourite for some reason. I haven’t seen any teams be really stable and getting those kinds of results. France have been on and off in some way, but they have very good players. When you have Kylian Mbappe on form he is pretty much a game winner every time. It depends, you know. I see France being really solid. They lost to Germany, but they have competed well in that tournament. I see England being there, as well.

But you always have to think about the nation that are very experienced, like Spain, like Italy, like Germany, the Netherlands. It’s difficult to say that France won’t be there, but it’s a tough tournament. It’s always pretty much that within the first few games you can say those guys are big, those guys are strong. When you look at the first tournament for France in Argentina, they’re not playing well and they go to the final. It’s really hard four months away to see the finalists. It’s still hard to predict."

Do you think Luis Enrique’s rotation of Kylian Mbappe in the PSG team ahead of his summer move away could affect France’s chances at the Euros? Do you think it will have an impact at all?

"Not at all. Not at all. Because first I don’t think the rotation has been really important. He played last week and did really well in the Champions League, so I don’t see any massive disruption confidence wise. This player is untouchable. He knows he’s quality and he’s a very confident lad and is very stable. The pressure is the same. You want to win the Champions League and you want to win the Euros, so he will do anything it takes.

I do think that Luis Enrique has almost an obligation to play him because he’s such a good player and such an impactful player for PSG. They want to win the Champions League, so whatever his future is, he still really wants to put their name on the trophy. That’s what he wants. He will do whatever it takes, so I don’t think Deschamps will see any problem with that. I’ve no doubt that he will be ready at the Euros.

Some English fans might be surprised that Olivier Giroud is still in the France squad at the age of 37. Do you see him leading the line this summer or will it be more of a backup, squad role now?

"Again, we don’t know. British fans could be surprised, but they never really respected the career of Olivier Giroud. Wherever he was, whether he was at Chelsea or at Arsenal, those guys really didn’t appreciate him as much as they should. He’s a top, top player. The only problem that he had was that he came after Thierry Henry. Yes, he came after Didier Drogba in some way. That’s the situation you have. But he’s a top player. What he’s doing with Milan now at this age there is no surprise.

Deschamps has to recognise that he’s a top player. Very professional. He does bring a lot of solutions and less problems. It’s better to have Giroud in your squad. With this mentality, with this faith in himself, then let people talk, the criticisms, he doesn’t care now. He’s used to it. I’m very pleased with what he’s doing. I’ve always been a big supporter of Olivier. When I crossed paths with him in the national team, I was really, really surprised by his qualities. I haven’t seen, as I said, the respect that he deserves because he’s a top, top player."

Last week, Frank Leboeuf said that Portugal have a good chance of winning the Euros provided they don’t take Cristiano Ronaldo. Do you agree or do you think your ex-teammate still has something to offer on the international stage?

No, that’s very disrespectful. I don’t agree with Frank Leboeuf. He has a way of speaking. To say that he’s going to disrupt the chances of Portugal to win a tournament is disrespectful. The player is one of the best players you will ever see. Whatever people might say, he will bring some pressure. If you look at his career, he’s been someone who’s been very smart. People may disagree with that because he’s got his ego or arrogance, whatever people are saying. He brings a lot of pressure, that’s for sure. A lot of attention. And it needs to be managed. But I think he understands that he’s not the same player that he was 20 years ago.

Nevertheless, he’s a top player still. He can score. That’s what he proved during qualification. Saying he can’t win because he’s there. You don’t know. Nobody knows. You could be anybody, a big name, Zidane or whatever, saying something like this. It doesn’t matter. I would still say it was disrespectful. I just don’t understand why people jump on this. They know that this will be taken by many journalists, but that’s unfair. Nobody can take their crystal ball out and say something like this. It’s very disrespectful. I just don’t like it. I think that he’s doing his best for his country. He will try to win another trophy for his country. Let him do it if he can. If he doesn’t show to his manager that he is about to help, let’s make a decision. But people saying things like this, it’s just to get their name in the papers. I don’t like it.

Moving back to one of your former clubs, Everton. Jarrad Branthwaite is hot property right now, and it looks like Everton have a fight on their hands to keep him. How important is it that they do keep Branthwaite for the future or would it be better given their financial problems to cash in and then use those funds to build a squad that will help ease their worries?

"I think it’s a good question. The financial situation is an important one. They have to maybe consider, or reconsider, their decision on that. He’s definitely a big asset for the club, on the field but outside as well. It’s a difficult one. The player I’m sure knows what Everton have brought to him. It’s a great platform to improve. We have seen some players from there go to big clubs and really enjoy a massive career. I think about Stones, for example. He’s done really well.

You can see the same trajectory for this player because the quality is different there. Technically gifted, strong. He can still put some weight on to be even more comfortable. And I do think that it’s a tough one for the club because they always want to keep their best players in the squad but that’s a rarity. Sometimes you have to do things in order. And the order is to stabilise the club. I will in some ways suggest for them to look at this seriously as well."

At the other end of the pitch, Everton’s struggles in front of goal continued at the weekend. As a striker, what do you think Everton need to do to get firing again?

"I think they build up the pitch really well. You have players who are sometimes unpredictable. Sometimes they tend to do the same things, and all that. Especially with the type of striker that they have. They’re still in some way traditional strikers. They can lead the line and get in behind defenders. But they have to convert quicker. The biggest threat they have is midfielders and that’s not a good sign. It’s good to have a lot of number eights who can bomb forward but they really have to be more clinical, and in that it’s all about confidence and being relaxed in front of goal.

If you are very tense, this is where you tend to miss the easy chances. Sometimes it’s just about knowing your spot and remaining there. And getting the right services. This sometimes happens, and when it clicks, it’s all over the place. It’s difficult to just give one or two bits of advice. I’ve seen the problem a few months ago that there were no links, no crosses, no organisation. That’s not the case now. They created a lot more chances than they’re used to, but they didn’t convert them. That’s the problem. I do think that they need to keep going. Their work rate has really improved them, especially mentally with the deducted points that they’ve had. They’ve done really well."

Back onto Branthwaite quickly for a second, I don’t really see that he’s been in any projected squads for England at the Euros. Do you think that he should be in Southgate’s consideration this summer?

"I think he is. I think he’s being considered. He may miss out because of whatever happens, but he’s a good defender, very stable. I’m a big fan. I do think there are still some elements that he needs to improve. Reading the game. Look at the communication he could have. Getting that in an England camp is something that strikers don’t need, those links and those communication skills, so that’s a bit different. ]

But I do think that he has the quality to do that. It wouldn’t surprise me that he would be a good asset in both boxes. I’m sure that he’s being looked at, and I won’t be surprised. He just has to remain very calm and do his job and remain prepared. That’s the only thing I can advise him on. Still don’t take on the pressure that he should not take on at this moment in time, and see how it goes."

One last question, back on to the Euros, I know you said it can be hard to call tournaments before you see the first few games, but are there any teams you can see bringing a surprise at the Euros this summer, from outside of the big names?

"I could name Switzerland. I could name Czech Republic. Switzerland I think could be a surprise package in some way, but that’s it.. In terms of outsiders, I don’t see any big outsiders. They all have a chance because now it’s such a difficult tournament. Yes, it tends to always be the big guns still left, in the quarter-finals, in the semi-finals. But if you look at other tournaments, maybe Switzerland could be a surprise."