MANCHESTER, May 7 – Ryan Giggs says he is still to decide about his Manchester United future despite making what appeared to be a farewell appearance in a 3-1 win over Hull City.
Giggs, the club’s current interim manager, sent himself on as a 70th-minute substitute in Tuesday’s Premier League game at Old Trafford, which was United’s last home fixture of the campaign.
The 40-year-old midfielder’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, but he made no mention of his future in a post-match address to the crowd.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, he explained that he had not reached a decision about whether to hang up his boots after a 23-year United career in which he has made a record 963 appearances for the club.
“I’ve not decided yet,” he said. “Nothing has changed. I’ll wait until the season has finished and then get a holiday and think about it in the next couple of weeks.”
On Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra, whose contracts are also due to expire but who did not feature against Hull, Giggs added: “It is not as if they are young players and they are up in the air.
“If they carry on, they carry on; if they leave, they leave. New players are going to come in anyway, whether they stay or go.
“It is up in the air, but in the next couple of weeks, I think it will get sorted for the three of us.”
Giggs was also cautious when asked to provide an update on the club’s search for a permanent successor to David Moyes, who was sacked last month after only 10 months as manager.
Current Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal is widely expected to be appointed shortly, but Giggs said that vice-chairman Ed Woodward had given him no indication that an announcement was imminent.
“I have not spoken to Ed for the last couple of days, so nothing has changed since Saturday,” he said.
“It could be the next few days, it could be the next couple of weeks.”
– ‘One of the greats’ –
Giggs sprang a surprise with his team selection by handing debuts to 18-year-old James Wilson and 20-year-old Tom Lawrence, and he was rewarded as Wilson scored twice to put United 2-0 up.
Matty Fryatt reduced the arrears for FA Cup finalists Hull, before substitute Robin van Persie made it 3-1 from Giggs’s pass in the closing stages.
“We got the young lads in to train with us and they never looked out of place,” Giggs said.
“I wanted to freshen things up from Saturday (a 1-0 loss to Sunderland) and they never let us down. James Wilson is not just a finisher; his all-round play is very good and he is exciting.”
Giggs also heralded Inter Milan-bound club captain Nemanja Vidic, who made his final appearance as a 22nd-minute substitute for the injured Phil Jones.
“Nemanja Vidic has been a brilliant player for us, a brilliant defender,” the Welshman said.
“He shared so much success with the lads. He goes with our good wishes and hopefully he does well.”
On Jones, who left the fray after hurting his shoulder in an aerial clash with Maynor Figueroa, Giggs said: “He’s gone to the hospital. We’ll see how it looks, but it didn’t look great.”
Hull manager Steve Bruce, who was United’s captain when Giggs shot to prominence at the club in the early 1990s, paid a warm tribute to his former colleague.
“If it has ended for Ryan Giggs, it has been some career,” said the former centre-back.
“There will never be anyone as decorated. Sometimes the word ‘great’ is used too often, but he has been one of the greats.”
The only sour note for United was a crude last-minute stamp on the impressive Adnan Januzaj by Hull midfielder David Meyler, who could now face retrospective punishment from the Football Association.
“I didn’t see it, but I have seen his leg,” Giggs said. “It is terrible, his leg. It goes from his knee to his ankle.”
Bruce said that he had not yet seen footage of the incident.
