George Boateng has claimed that the Dutch FA made a mistake by not appointing Ronald Koeman as Netherlands manager following the 2014 World Cup.
Louis van Gaal joined Manchester United as manager after leading the side to third place in that tournament, with his successor Guus Hiddink embarking on a failed second spell as national team manager before current boss Danny Blind took charge in July.
The Oranje have failed to qualify for Euro 2016 following a dismal campaign and Boateng, who won four caps for the Netherlands, has said that Southampton boss Koeman was the right man for the job.
"We need to look at our managerial structure.We have good players and the squad is 80 percent of the players that performed at the World Cup where we ever did so well," Boateng told Sky Sports News.
"I said before the Dutch FA made an error by appointing Guus Hiddink to replace Louis van Gaal, following his appointment as Manchester United manager. That is not to say Guus is a bad manager, he is a fantastic manager, a father figure when it comes to the national team.
"However, looking back I feel his time was up and Ronald Koeman was the perfect candidate to take the job. Southampton have excelled fantastically under Koeman and he would have been the right man for the job."
The Netherlands have failed to reach the European Championships for the first time since 1984 and their first major tournament since the 2002 World Cup.
