The Welshman’s future is yet to be decided but he expects a permanent appointment to be made with the season over and backs his side to make the best of their absence from Europe

Interim Manchester United manager Ryan Giggs expects a permanent appointment to be finalised “next week” after the end of the Premier League.

The Red Devils closed out their season by recovering to a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday, ending the Welshman’s brief tenure in the dugout after stepping in following David Moyes’s sacking as Louis van Gaal is set to be confirmed as the new man at Old Trafford imminently.

“I think I’ve got to decide within the next week,” Giggs told reporters of his own future after the game.

“The managerial situation will be sorted out, probably, next week and then, for my own position, I’ve got to think about it and decide what to do.

“It’s been an experience [taking temporary charge]. There’s been ups and downs – more ups than downs and the downs were obviously the Sunderland game – but I didn’t want that second half [against Southampton] to end. The fans were great, the players were great. I loved it.

“I probably learned more against Sunderland than from any of the wins but I learned the character that these players have and I’ve learned about everything that comes away from the football. It’s incessant at times.

“[The decision is] whether to play on or not, whether to stay on [as a coach] or whether to take a year off from football. All the options are open for me.”

Tottenham’s win on the final day ensured that United will play no European football next season but Giggs is keen to use that absence as a chance to focus on domestic affairs.

“I’m a positive person and I look at it from a positive point of view,” he added. “It’s a chance to focus on our league form and get good cup runs, which we didn’t this year.

“If we do well in the cups, we can rotate the squad and give all the players a chance because we do have to keep the squad for when we get back into Europe next year.”

According to Goal