Gary Neville believes Manchester United will sack Erik ten Hag before the end of the season if things don’t improve.
United lost for the second time in nine days after being thrashed 3-0 at home by fierce rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Ten Hag’s side had started the season with a 1-0 win over Fulham before losing 2-1 at Brighton.
The Dutchman was expected to lose his job at the end of last season (United’s worst ever Premier League campaign in terms of final position (8th) and goal difference (-1)) but was saved by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
However, Neville fears that club owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe (who was pictured with his head in his hands on Sunday) may soon run out of patience.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag pictured after his side’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool
“Every manager who comes to this club has had problems,” former United captain Neville said during his post-match analysis for Sky Sports.
“We have the feeling today that we are going to go through the same thing again, but I think it is time for calm, it is an international break, which is probably very necessary for United.
‘But Erik ten Hag is going to have to get the club into a position to compete in the Champions League before Christmas, or else he’s going to be in trouble.
‘He knows that. You know, he’s been influenced to change his team, his staff. In the summer, he’s brought in two new coaches – that’s not always ideal either. So there are new messages coming through, even though he’s been here for two years. There are new technical directors, CEOs. There are a lot of changes at the club.
“There are a lot of employees who have been here for a long time who are also leaving. So, look, there were going to be some problems down the road, so to speak, with interfering with the Glazers’ ownership. We’re seeing that problem right here today.”
“This is not going to change quickly. It is a day of reflection for United but I think there needs to be a bit of calm because we wanted a change of ownership and we have achieved that and there are some things going on and we have to let them settle and integrate.”
Former United captain Gary Neville was part of Sky Sports’ team of pundits for Sunday’s game.
Jamie Carragher compared Ten Hag’s situation to that of Brendan Rodgers shortly before he was sacked by Liverpool’s ownership group FSG in 2015.
The former Liverpool captain said: “What we saw there, we saw a lot of it last season with teams just sticking to Manchester United’s back four. I’ve seen this with Liverpool, actually. If you go back to before Jurgen Klopp came in, there was talk of Brendan Rodgers losing his job at the end of a season. He[Liverpool owner John Henry]wasn’t sure what to do and kept him, and changed his personnel, exactly what Erik ten Hag has done here.”
Rodgers was fired in October of the 2015-16 season.
Carragher continued: ‘Erik ten Hag said in his interview: “We’ll see where we are at the end of the season.” And yes, it’s early days after three games. But I’d be surprised if he was still in charge at the end of the season.
After claiming Ratcliffe and United’s directors did not sack Ten Hag in the summer because they “didn’t have the courage”, Carragher claimed their lack of action was “probably delaying the inevitable”.
United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured (second row, left) with his head in his hands on Sunday
Neville replied: “I don’t agree with the ‘nerve’ part at the end. They use the word bottle up there on the portico. That’s why we’re arguing for 20 minutes. Well, he said ownership suppressed him, they didn’t get rid of him. Oh my God. How can you say they suppressed him? They were really open about the fact that they went looking for a manager to try and replace Erik ten Hag and they couldn’t find one.
“Bayern Munich had a few months to replace (Thomas) Tuchel and found it difficult and ended up hiring someone who was their third or fourth choice. Liverpool had six months to replace Klopp and Arne Slot was their third choice. It was not easy to get a manager at the end of last season for Manchester United, or for any club in Europe.”
Carragher replied: “You’re openly admitting that they were looking for a new manager… Exactly, because they’re looking for someone else… so they don’t want this manager. If you’re happy with your manager, don’t start talking to other managers.”
Neville fears that whether Ten Hag stays or goes, United may continue to struggle to attract the world’s best footballers to Old Trafford, which he says has become a “players’ graveyard”.
Neville had a heated debate with former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher (right) at Old Trafford
“The biggest problem Manchester United have is that the best players in Europe have no motivation at the moment anyway, they just don’t have it,” Neville insisted.
‘Over the last 10 years, it’s been a graveyard for players, generally, who have come to the club with big reputations and haven’t done well, whether they’re local players, Great Britain national players or players on international soil.
‘When I came back from Valencia, I think in April (2016), I went to see a game. It was one of Louis van Gaal’s last games and I saw that the stadium was half empty during a game, and they were playing Crystal Palace on a Tuesday night. I thought: “That’s a sign.”
‘Today, with 25,000 fans in the 74,000-capacity stadium and five minutes to go, Erik ten Hag has a real problem, he can’t continue. I think they’ll have a few months to get used to the arrival of new players, like (Rasmus) Hojlund, (Manuel) Ugarte. I think they’ll evaluate him at that point. He can’t be in eighth place at the end of November and, by December, he has to be in the top four or five. He has to be…’
In response to Neville’s question about United needing to be higher than eighth, Carragher asked: “So is sixth place OK? I’m serious. Tell me yourself. No, you don’t say: ‘Manchester United, the biggest club in the world, would Real Madrid or Bayern Munich accept being sixth in their league?’ We say eighth. That’s where we are at the moment with Manchester United: if they’re eighth in a couple of months, that’s fine.”
Roy Keane, another former United captain, had been pictured having a friendly pre-match chat with Ten Hag at Old Trafford on Sunday during the calm before the storm.
Roy Keane pictured chatting to Ten Hag inside an empty Old Trafford ahead of Sunday’s game
Having taken a backseat for much of the Neville and Carragher debate, Keane has finally weighed in, highlighting the lack of reliable players currently available to Ten Hag in his squad.
“You also look at their team,” Keane began. “You ask yourself: are there any brilliant players in terms of keeping clean sheets? No, they are very open. Are they brilliant in attack and do they score a lot of goals? No, their goal scoring record last year was probably one of the worst in the first half of the tournament.
“So you’re trying to do something. You come to Old Trafford, you come to watch the games and you’re left with a doubt.”