I´m not the right person at all – Vieira dismisses USA links

Former Arsenal and France captain Patrick Vieira insisted he is not the right person to replace Bruce Arena as the United States head coach.

USA are looking for a new head coach after Arena resigned following the country’s failure to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

A shock 2-1 loss at lowly Trinidad and Tobago, coupled with wins for rivals Panama and Honduras, ended USA’s quest for an eighth consecutive World Cup berth.

New York City boss Vieira has emerged as a possible candidate to replace Arena but the 41-year-old – who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with France – dismissed those links.

“It’s always flattering, but I’m not ready,” Vieira said. “I think when you go to the national team, it’s important to know the league, to know the players, to understand the system and how it works and you need experience. There’s a lot better candidates than myself.

“I really don’t know what people are talking or what people are thinking. But something I can tell you is that I’m not the right person at all.”

Vieira, whose New York are in the MLS play-offs, added: “I don’t think the US should throw everything [out] and start from nothing. They’ve been working for the last few years.

“It’s just about taking the good and the bad and just try to reflect about what went wrong. I don’t think they should throw everything away because that’s not their answer.”