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From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterReplacing a legendary manager in the dugout is one of footballs most fascinating challenges.Opting for continuity can bring risks if standards are not maintained, while a fresh start can risk alienating established players and traditions.When Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day in 2013 and ended his 26-year spell in the Manchester United dugout, the club opted to bring in David Moyes, trading one Scot for another as they looked to bring in a new boss with plenty of Premier League experience.You may likeHe'd often give me little warnings when I wasn't playing well Nani on playing under Manchester United icon Sir Alex FergusonLouis van Gaal came across quite cold. He didnt want me to speed up play: when I was on the pitch, I wasnt myself. I was happy to respect the instructions but with him I felt really confined Manchester United flop on his time with the DutchmanThere were stories in the newspapers every week, but I hadnt paid much attention to them Nani on his life-changing move to Manchester UnitedNani on Manchester Uniteds post-Fergie strugglesMoyes would fail to see out the season at Old Trafford as he was sacked in April 2014 with the club sitting seventh in the Premier League and their title defence in tatters. With the benefit of hindsight, former Red Devils winger Nani believes that the move was doomed from the start.When Moyes arrived, he came in with a mentality the complete opposite of what United required the Portuguese tells FourFourTwo. After Ferguson left, that dressing room needed a manager who understood the clubs culture, someone strong-willed enough to handle players of that stature and used to winning with big teams.Get VIP Manchester United tickets HERE with Seat Unique!Manchester United's hospitality offers comfortable, padded seating in the North West Quadrant. The package includes a concourse meal deal (hot food, drink, and snack) and the official matchday programme. Guests also receive a 10 per cent Megastore discount and non-matchday Museum entry, providing a great value, family-friendly match experience for home fans.View DealMoyes wasnt. He arrived with a small-club mentality and made poor decisions. Above all, it was about bad man-management. When you have high-quality players, you cant waste them by taking away their confidence or devaluing them that happened to me.At first he told me one thing, shortly afterwards he changed completely. You cant convince a player to stay by telling him hes fundamental to the team, then behave in the opposite way. He repeated that United depended on me, that things didnt work without me, and that speech convinced me to renew my contract.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.As soon as I signed, his behaviour towards me completely changed. He stopped believing in me. Once I realised I wasnt in his plans, I wanted to leave but Id just signed a five-year contract.Nani would head out on loan back to Sporting in August 2014, by which time Louis van Gaal had taken over the club.I left at the right moment everything clearly went downhill afterwards, he continues. The team was never the same again, it was no longer the United wed all been used to.At first, Van Gaal wanted me to stay, but he arrived with a different tactical approach, a back three, and didnt use wingers. I kept training professionally, but also told him that if he wasnt counting on me, I had nothing to prove and Id rather leave.In the first Premier League match, I started on the bench. The team was losing when I came on, I changed the game and we equalised. After that, he told me not to leave, that he wanted me to stay. I was training at a high level confident, scoring goals.But I reminded him that hed been the one whod told me I wasnt a priority, so I made the decision to go. I moved to Sporting and had a fantastic season personally in the Champions League.TOPICSManchester UnitedPremier LeagueJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromDani Gil
