Danny Murphy has claimed that Phil Neville would be a decent shout to be the next Newcastle manager.
Mike Ashley is on the lookout for a new manager after Rafa Benitez left the club on Sunday.
Benitez released a statement on Monday and said that the owners don’t share the same vision as he did for the club.
Talking on the Jim White Show (talkSPORT, Monday, 10.30am), Murphy was quick to point out that didn’t just mean money for new players but said, “No one wants to be talking about survival but that’s the reality looking at that statement.”
He said that a pragmatic manager could be the best road to go down for Newcastle.
“You have to go down the line of a pragmatic manager, but that doesn’t have to be negative,” Murphy said.
“Newcastle fans might laugh but one name is Phill Neville. Chris Hughton, Sean Dyche… they’re not everyone’s cup of tea because of the way they play. But under Dyche, Newcastle wouldn’t get relegated in my opinion.
“Someone young and hungry like Phil Neville is maybe the road they could go down. He went from a United winning team to an Everton team that was much more pragmatic and adapted as a player to that team. He’s tactically very good and I’m throwing it out there because he’s a bit different.
“He’s a young, English coach doing a very good job. The English ladies play very good football but he also knows the other way.”
OPINION
Phil Neville has said that he wants the Lionesses to play with style and that he wants them to enjoy their football. Playing out from the back, taking risks in possession and having the freedom to express themselves. That’s how Neville played in a United team that won everything there was on offer. The Newcastle job would obviously be a big step up and Neville might fancy a new job after the World Cup, but would he want to manage under a restrictive Ashley regime? Whoever takes over from Benitez has got a tough job on their hands and relegation would be seen as a huge backward step, despite the fears being real. The way Neville talks on this FA video suggests that he’s a young, progressive manager, who wants to win the right way. Pragmatic, survival football at Newcastle would seem like a backward step in terms of philosophy, despite giving him a big stage to coach on.