Archie Knox knows better than most that Sir Alex Ferguson's successor will have big boots to fill after being his No.2 at Manchester United and Aberdeen But the veteran coach reckons fellow Scot David Moyes is an ideal candidate to replace the legendary manager.
Knox was Ferguson's right-hand man during Aberdeen's trophy-laden days of the early 1980s before following him to Old Trafford for five years until 1991.
After working wonders for 11 years at Goodison Park, Moyes has been installed as overwhelming favourite to take on the role of replacing Ferguson, who guided United to an incredible 38 trophies in 27 years. But Knox, who was assistant to Walter Smith at Everton, believes Moyes has the tools for the job.
"David certainly has a great pedigree at Everton. He's worked on a shoe-string basis at Everton and in over 10 years he has been there, he has kept them in that top 10 and even qualified for the Champions League," said Knox. "David has as good a pedigree as anybody to take over that role. He is similar to Alex in his management ways with his attention to detail, his handling of players, the staff, everybody. It's a tall order to take over from Sir Alex, no doubt, but David would certainly be a good candidate."
Knox admits he was taken aback by Ferguson's decision. He added: "I thought he was going to go on forever, I must admit. It's the most fantastic achievement for a manager that you could imagine, something that I don't think will ever be repeated in the modern game. Whoever comes in to replace him has a very difficult task to try and live up to what he achieved there.
"You had to be a winner. If you were associated with Alex, you had to be a winner. Simple as that."
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