Former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic thinks that footballers have become more powerful than before and managers don’t get a chance to establish themselves at a club unless they win silverware.

Vidic, who is in Mumbai as part of The Football Movement, an initiative by the Premier League and the UK Department for International Trade, was addressing a gathering of journalists when he was asked about the reported impasse between United manager Jose Mourinho and midfielder Paul Pogba, who was signed for £89.3 million in 2016.

“Football is changing, players have more powerful than before,” Vidic said. “It’s become a business. The young generation has a value [that comes with them]. It’s difficult for managers to establish themselves if they don’t win trophies. Obviously Mourinho is a different case. He is a manager who has won lots of trophies. He will always have a reputation and the respect of the players.”

Vidic also spoke about changing times for managers, who “don’t have enough chance to build something” at clubs. Gone are the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, he said, who retired in 2013 after a 27-year stint at Manchester United.

“It used to be a [Manchester] United tradition that managers stay long at the club and try to develop the club,” he said. “We have to accept we live in a different world now. A lot more depends on the result.”

Vidic will be attending the Indian Super League match between Mumbai City FC and Northeast United on Thursday. Asked if he would like to manage an ISL club, the 36-year-old replied in the affirmative – “Of course, why not?” – but added he wasn’t ready yet.

The former defender, who retired in early 2016, has been taking the European football association UEFA’s coaching license course but said there was still some time to go before he can become a manager.

“At the moment, I’m still [taking] the Pro License course, I’m still learning,” he said. “As a manager, I need to know what to do once I get a job. I’m trying to increase [my] skills. Managers need to have a different mentality than the players. You have to manage 25 players and all 25 are quality who want to play everyday.”

While taking the course, Vidic said he is also visiting clubs around Europe to observe how they function. “My mentality as a manager is to grow,” he said. “When you start working, you just work. You don’t have time to visit clubs and people, see what they do, which is what I am doing right now. I was in Ajax [recently], seeing what they do.”

However, being a former player doesn’t always make you a successful manager, according to the Serbian. “We know how players think,” he said. “If you have a career like [Zinedine] Zidane, at the beginning, they’ll give you respect. You’ll need to prove that you have the knowledge, that you’re heading in the right direction.

Mauricio Pochettino has been one manager who impressed Vidic a lot. “I like watching Tottenham. Pochettino has done a great job. [Pep] Guardiola has done a good job at City. Napoli play a good style of football. It’s not just about individuals, it’s about teams as well.”

Vidic was also all praise for Manchester United’s January signing Alexis Sanchez and labelled him a “top player”. The centre-back said that United would have really benefited from signing the Chilean forward prior to the season’s start but nonetheless felt that the former Barcelona man’s Champions League pedigree would come in handy.

Vidic also thinks that Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, who has been linked with United, would be an interesting signing for the English club and is a player who can improve the Premier League. Vidic had played with Icardi for two seasons at Inter Milan after a nine-year stint with United ended in 2014.

“He’s a good player who scores goals, so all teams are showing an interest in him. [But] not every player fits in every team. Mourinho is a top manager because he understands that. So Icardi’s signing will depend on what sort of football Mourinho wants to play next season. Icardi is someone who can improve the Premier League, challenge himself there.”

Vidic also felt that United’s central defender Chris Smalling deserved more credit than the flak he is currently getting. “It hasn’t been easy for him. He moved from Fulham. [He played] three different styles of football under [David] Moyes, [Louis] Van Gaal, [Jose] Mourinho. He’s improved. They will have more respect if United wins trophies.”

The Serb also felt that defending has become tougher in recent times with the advent of ball-playing as an additional trait. “It’s difficult to switch from playing the ball out from the back to being a big and strong defender,” he said. “It’s tougher now. Chris Smalling has to adapt. It would have been difficult for me, Rio [Ferdinand] or any other player.”

Ferguson’s hair-dryer treatment was not very commonly used during Vidic’s time, the defender revealed. “He used it when he needed. You cannot treat everyone the same. He didn’t do it because he’s frustrated. He tried to make players realise. We won five titles in eight years. So he didn’t need to use it a lot.”

Vidic revealed that Didier Drogba, Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez were the three toughest strikers he had faced in his career. “All three are different and difficult to play against,” he said. “In England, that’s the challenge of the Premier League. One week, you have a two-metre striker like [Peter] Crouch playing against you; next year, you have somebody else.”