• Premier League

'Van Gaal couldn't have done a better job than Bruce'

Harry Redknapp does not believe British managers get the plaudits they deserve © PA Photos

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Louis van Gaal could not have done better than Steve Bruce at Hull, according to Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp.

In his new book A Man Walks on to a Pitch, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail, Redknapp defends the standard of English managers and claims some don't get the plaudits they deserve.

"Louis van Gaal couldn't have done a better job with Hull City than Steve Bruce did last year," Redknapp says. "Yet did his heroics in the League and FA Cup create even a ripple at Old Trafford? Was Steve, a great competitor and wonderful player for United, even considered for the Manchester United job?

"OK, a few times in his career it hasn't worked out but that would be true of Van Gaal, too, if he had spent his managerial life at clubs like Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town or Hull.

"I don't understand why owners suddenly lost faith in British managers. Unless Frank Lampard or John Terry gets the job, do you really see Roman Abramovich appointing an Englishman to Chelsea? Or even a British manager? Maybe Brendan Rodgers might come into the frame, but would he leave Liverpool for Stamford Bridge?"

It isn't the only bee in Redknapp's bonnet, though. Here are some of the best bits from his new book:

Redknapp on:

Paul Scholes: "Better than Giggs and Keane"

"Scholes was playing tiki-taka football when nobody in England knew what it was. He was another of those players, like Denis Law or Bobby Moore, who at 15 probably looked as if he wouldn't make it.

Too small, you would think - can't run, dumpy little ginger nut - but then the ball would come to him and he would dazzle you. He was the best footballer in that Manchester United midfield, better than Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane."

Patrick Vieira's rivalry with Roy Keane: "The change in Keane's demeanour was terrifying"

"Gareth Southgate tells a story about those two warriors. Roy had just started his career as a pundit with ITV and was covering a Manchester City match. The presenter told Roy there was a special guest he might remember from his playing days.

Arsenal legend Vieira almost joined Spurs

• Former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has revealed how close he came to signing former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira and current Barcelona striker Luis Suarez during his reign at White Hart Lane.
• Click here to read more

Gareth could see Vieira walking towards them, in his new role as a City ambassador. Gareth says the change in Keane's demeanour was terrifying: his mood darkened, his eyes narrowed, he stiffened and his grip on the table was almost white-knuckle. Nearly 10 years after they had last played each other, Roy had gone into battle mode.

It looked as if it could backfire horribly, but the first words out of Patrick's mouth were so complimentary towards Roy it just defused the situation."

Roy Keane the manager: "He was as good as gold"

"Roy Keane is working in the game at Aston Villa and Ireland, but it seems a real shame to have a man of his stature outside United. Would they have come seventh last season if Keane had been around to pull the players up?

Roy Keane should have been offered a role at Manchester United, says Harry Redknapp © Getty Images

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He would have been after them as he always was in the peak years, when there were no short-cuts at United and those messages were passed from Sir Alex, through Keane.

There is a story of him laying into Mark Bosnich, the goalkeeper, for turning up late on his first day of training. Bosnich said he'd got lost. Keane's point was that on his own first day at the club, he got up early, hired a taxi and followed it to the training ground in his car to ensure he arrived on time.

I know Roy had a reputation for being high maintenance but I never found him that way. He was as good as gold as a manager and if you asked him about players you always got excellent, straight opinions."

Arsene Wenger: "Suddenly all the talk was about his revolutionary new training methods"

"The arrival of Arsene Wenger in 1996 certainly heralded a change in English football. He was very successful very quickly, and suddenly all the talk was about his revolutionary new training methods.

He only trains for an hour … does everything on the stopwatch … the players are wearing heart monitors at training … he gives them supplements … Prozone is one of the biggest changes.

Last season, when QPR were due to play Blackpool, our most recent scout's report had them operating with four at the back and two holding midfield players. In the old days, that would have been all that was available."

Ryan Giggs: "He has gone into coaching but ... it was always going to be United or nothing"

"Let's face it, if you've been earning £200,000 a week, are you going to take a job for £80,000 a year that involves going out every night watching inferior games and inferior players on the off-chance of finding a gem?

Ryan Giggs wouldn't have considered managing Stockport, according to Redknapp © Getty Images

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"Giggs has gone into coaching, but it was never even considered that he might follow the Bobby Charlton route and end up at Preston. It was always going to be at Manchester United or nothing. If Stockport County had phoned him I think it would have been the shortest conversation of all time.

"So Giggs has not taken that risk. Why would he test himself against a guy like Steve Evans at Rotherham United? Evans will never get a Premier League job, but his record as a lower-division manager is outstanding."

"The modern players are as likely to want to be media men or agents as run a team, and I don't blame them."

The Premier League: "The days of walking in ... and throwing teacups were gone"

"Once the new league started in 1992, everything about our game changed. It became about foreign players, foreign coaches and foreign wages to keep up with the biggest clubs in Europe.

The days of walking in, shouting and screaming and throwing teacups at players were gone. There is no point effing and blinding at a player who can hardly speak English. You had to talk to them, slowly, reasonably. An awful lot of British coaches ruled by fear and bullying, and the foreign players wouldn't accept that."

John Terry: "If Chelsea ever lose faith in John, I'd take him like a shot"

"Terry is another influential player. He's one of those that change a club. If we could take him to QPR from Chelsea I would feel very confident, just with that one signing alone, that we would stay up.

Harry Redknapp says a lot can be learned from John Terry © Getty Images

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He gets people at it, he's a talker, he takes charge of the dressing-room. It's hard to find leaders, though I'm lucky enough to have Rio Ferdinand with me. It's hard to find talkers, organisers. I don't know why, but it is so hard to find a player prepared to speak his mind.

Everyone sits there with headphones, looking at an iPad or playing a computer game. Is it any wonder modern players lack communication skills?

Terry is a throwback in the way he bosses a team. The modern Tony Adams - I can't pay him a higher compliment than that.

Some people may think John is a dubious role model, but I would have no hesitation in saying to any of the young academy defenders at QPR: 'Go and watch Chelsea tonight, go and watch Terry, study him all game'."

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