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Wales boss Ryan Giggs at the China Cup in 2018(Image: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Ryan Giggs admits he was ready to quit Wales before his first game and compares himself to Man United great

The Wales boss admits he initially struggled with the transition from player to manager

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Ryan Giggs has revealed that he contemplated quitting as Wales boss - before his first game in charge.

Giggs, who'd won almost everything as a player with Manchester United, admits he found the transition from player to manager difficult to handle, with things coming to a head ahead of Wales' China Cup campaign in 2018.

He told The Sun : “I remember being on the coach before my first game for Wales in China. I was at the front of the coach and I’m thinking, ‘This is my last game’. I don’t want to feel like this again.

“I’d only had the team for a couple of days, I’d prepared the team as best as I could and then everything is out of your hands. It’s a horrible feeling.

“But the more you do it the more you get used to it. It gets easier but it’s still not easy. The highs are huge, better than when you are a player but the lows are much worse.”

Having helped Wales bounce back from their failure to reach the 2018 World Cup by booking a place at their second consecutive European Championships, Giggs has noticeably warmed to the role in the dugout.

His current contract with the FAW takes him up to the 2022 World Cup, and he insists he is fully focused on the task at hand - and is not looking any further.

He told an MUTV group chat: “Lifestyle-wise, it’s good. It’s not as intense as club football. I found that for the two years working under Louis (van Gaal as United assistant), it was intense and you don’t get much rest.

“At the moment I’m really happy with what I’m doing with Wales. It’s going to be a really interesting two years. We’ve got the Euros and then the World Cup will be a smaller, condensed space because usually you get time in between.

“I’ll probably see how I go after that. But I have no plans at the moment. I’m enjoying it with Wales.”

As well as working under van Gaal, Giggs has of course had experience of working under one of the greatest managers in the history of the game in Sir Alex Ferguson.

And he admits he's modelled some of his own managerial traits on his old boss, including his infamous 'hairdryer'.

“It has been known that I’m a ranter. Half-time is one of the most difficult things as a manager. You haven’t got long," he added.

“It’s not difficult losing your rag or you’re not playing well or the players haven’t done what you’ve said. That’s the easy bit. It’s when you come in at 2-0, that’s the hard bit to maintain that they do it again.

“I actually enjoy it a lot more if I have to have a go at them because you’ve got something to say and you get it off your chest. I’m pretty calm but if the players don’t do what I’ve said then there’s no messing about. I just rip into them.”