If Manchester United are looking to replace Louis van Gaal now, they will have to hire someone like Mark Hughes. He's a United great who knows the club, he’s been around a bit, and he's proved himself.

People talk about the job he did at QPR and Fulham. But he is a guy who loves to be at home and around his family. Going to London, if he was given the option again, he wouldn’t do it – he doesn’t feel comfortable in that environment. London doesn’t suit him. It was the first thing he ever had a go at me about – he called me a Cockney t***!

After those two teams everyone was expecting him to go to Stoke and fail – as a lot of QPR fans probably wanted as he was blamed for what happened there. But I would ask one question: Was he buying all the players himself or was he told what to do?

Look at what he has done with the teams where he has had home comforts and his family around him. Look how well he did with Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City. And now look what he is doing with Stoke – how he has turned them around as a football team and a club that is attracting top-class players.

Sparky is about scoring goals – his teams don’t sit back, yet we’ve seen how he sets up his teams defensively as well. Stoke are better than United defensively - it is David de Gea that makes the difference there. In their last match Everton didn’t create a great deal despite scoring three and it’s the first time Stoke have conceded more than two this season.

Sparky would be mentally ready to walk into United. It’s great what they are saying about Ryan Giggs but he hasn’t managed at any level regularly, Nicky Butt has done more. Is he really ready for it? I’m sure Ryan wouldn't say no to the club he loves. But I think we need that bit more than what he has done already – perhaps he needs to go away, manage elsewhere, and come back. A lot of supporters would probably put their hand on their heart and say they are not really sure they want him to take over right this minute.

All this doesn’t mean it is right to change manager now though. For the integrity of United I would love them to go to the end of the season without replacing Van Gaal. Sacking him would be a knee-jerk reaction.

Judging by the performance he got from the team against Chelsea, even though both sides are struggling, he got a very good response. But everyone can do that when you are playing big games, so the question is: can United they do the same again in their next fixture?

Purely based on that performance though, I don’t think they should be too hasty. There is something about Van Gaal – his CV shows that – and on the other side of it, we have to ask do they want to sack another manager so quickly? They could rush the decision and get the wrong person in – that’s what worries me more than anything.

Somewhere along the line, Van Gaal has relented a bit. Although his methods were good in the past they may not be right today. He’s a disciplinarian and he can still manage in that manner but somewhere he has to give his pupils a bar of chocolate to make them think they have done well. Even if they haven’t, just going out and knowing that they have tried, he can say “well done”. He can’t keep being moody, you can’t be overcritical of the footballer today. Perhaps he could name them and shame them internally if that’s what he wants to do but you have to give them something in return. He has to change his ways and the players have to adapt as well. It’s give and take.

It was similar for Sir Alex Ferguson. I remember when we played Norwich City away in 1992. We came in at half-time and he was not happy and dug out Paul Ince. Incey reacted - there was a big confrontation - and said he didn't want to play for the manager any more and threw his boots off. But Brian Kidd, the great assistant manager and pacifier, who had great respect from all the players, got him out on to the pitch in the second half and he puts in an unbelievable performance. Incey ended up scoring twice and we won 3-1.

At the end, the manager is there shaking hands as normal. He then gives Incey a slap round the head and says: “That’s the reason I do what I do to you – to get performances like that!” Incey wanted to be angry but he had to smile about it because we all started laughing.

You look at LVG and I’ve never seen him smile on the bench – Sir Alex used to smile. If something happened – good, bad or indifferent – a referee might fall over or something, he would have a laugh. With Van Gaal everyone knows how serious football is but every now and again you have a few seconds in a game where you can relax those muscles in your face and smile and not to be so uptight. If you have him being as stern as he is for 90 minutes you wouldn’t get anything from the players.

So he can change. Sir Alex did, people have told me that he relaxed – some of his early signings like Steve Bruce said he was a completely different man from what he used to be, even when I arrived in 1991. He’d been there for nearly five years by that point.

Based on that, I want to see the next four or five United performances. It’s not about the results at the moment but how they play. They haven’t performed recently but they are still in a position to win the league so there was something there.

It would also give the club stability whereas they are vulnerable now. You know that because they have the Wicked Witch of the South – Jose Mourinho – hanging around. For them to be mentioned with him it tells you how badly things must be if they are thinking of going down that road.

So to stick with Van Gaal and let him be active in the transfer window would shut everyone up as they would know he is going to see out his contract – or at least stay until the end of the season – because he would be buying players for the future, for the next manager. It would lift the players.

Source: Euro Sport