10 Legends Who Almost Managed Manchester United

By Crip Cooke /

10. Jock Stein

Celtic€™s legendary manager, the late Jock Stein, nearly joined Manchester United back in the early 70s, but reports suggested his wife wasn€™t keen on moving to England so he rejected their approach. "I'm happy where I am, I like the people I work with, I like the players and the directors of this club but most of all I like the fans and to see them happy makes me happy, so I'm very happy here," he said at the time of the rumours. A major shame, considering the impact the legend had in all of his appointments. United made approaches for a host of managers prior to appointing Frank O€™Farrell in 1971, following the departure of influential Sir Matt Busby, but losing such a important figurehead of the club led to their demise in the league. Stein was a target due to his unrivalled success with Scottish Premier League side Celtic, winning a total of 10 league titles between 1966 and 1977. The late manager did eventually make the move to England to join Leeds United, but it wasn€™t until almost a decade after the Red Devils had initially approached for his services.