United must achieve consistency, insists Giggs

Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs believes consistency will be the key to their success next season.

The Red Devils finished fourth in Louis van Gaal’s first campaign in charge, earning a place back in the Champions League, after overcoming some indifferent results early on.

Giggs accepts they have to cut out that proliferation of dropped points to improve in the coming season.

“We’ve had a pretty good start and are back in the Champions League, which is exciting,” said Giggs when asked about how the team had fared under Van Gaal’s leadership.

“I think we can achieve a lot as we have shown this year we are capable of matching the best teams in the league.

“Now we just have to work on our consistency, and if we get off to a good start next season we can definitely do that.”

Last season was Giggs’ first as a full-time coach after a 24-year playing career and he admits the transition has taken some time to adjust to.

“The biggest thing you learn going from player to coach is not to think like a player any more, but to think like a coach,” he told manutd.com.

“As a player you’re pretty selfish — you want to do well and you know what you’re capable of doing and how to get it.

“I wanted to be the best as a player and I want to be the best as a coach. That means working hard and doing everything you can to achieve that but also enjoying the challenge.

“You need to get the best out of 25, maybe 30, different individuals so you need to find what makes them tick and how you’re going to get the best out of them.” One of those individuals who did not have the best start under Van Gaal was Adnan Januzaj, who made just 21 appearances — the majority of which were as a substitute.

However, agent Dirk de Vriese dismissed suggestions he could be heading for the exit.

“This is total nonsense,” he told Sportwitness. “Adnan is feeling good at Manchester United, and they don’t want him to leave the club.

“He is considered still as their biggest talent since many years.

“There was a lot of top teams asking to buy him and a lot of sub-top teams to loan him but he will stay at Manchester United to become a legend in the club.”

Meanwhile United defender Chris Smalling believes the opportunity to face Paris Saint Germain and European champions Barcelona, two of world football’s top sides, will serve the club in good stead ahead of the highly anticipated 2015/16 season.

Louis van Gaal’s men will take on the champions of France and Spain as part of this summer’s Tour 2015.

Smalling is particularly keen to soak up the experience of playing against both PSG and Barca, given that United could potentially meet both teams in this season’s Champions League.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Smalling said. “To have the chance to test yourself against the best will be another good step in our preparation for the new season.

“Playing PSG for the first time will offer a different sort of test, and it’s always important to be exposed to different teams from different leagues,” he added. “We may end up playing them later on in the season, providing we can get through our Champions League qualifier, so it will be a good test.”