"There is something fundamentally wrong" - Gary Neville takes bold stance on Manchester United sacking Ten Hag
Gary Neville has told Manchester United's hierarchy that Erik ten Hag deserves one more season to turn things around. The Dutch coach is under intense pressure and the club's new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team will decide his future once the season concludes.
Ten Hag has a year left on his contract but the Red Devils are being linked with several managers. Departing Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel and England manager Gareth Southgate have been linked with the job.
However, Neville feels arriving at Manchester United over the past decade has led to the demise of many great players and managers. The club's iconic former captain thinks there's something wrong in this respect and new ownership could turn the tide (via Sky Sports):
"What we've seen over the last 10 years is that players have struggled to come to terms with Old Trafford, managers have struggled to come to terms with Old Trafford. You've got to look at the fact that there are all great players when you sign them and all great managers when we sign them. So for me there is something fundamentally wrong that's creating this difficulty and I would say coming through that maybe the new ownership, the change of personnel, would allow these players next season and the manager to feel more stable."
Manchester United's list of options to take over from Ten Hag if they do part ways isn't extensive. Neville doesn't think there's any suitable replacement available and advised the Red Devils to give their manager another season where the team's injury curse may subside:
"I don't see any suitable replacement out there at the moment. Bayern Munich are struggling to find a replacement for their manager, other clubs are struggling as well. I think we should stick with Erik ten Hag, and give him one more season, particularly an injury-free season where this season we've obviously had a lot of injuries. I would say one more season would be worthy to see if we can get back to the standards of last season where we won a trophy and finished in the top four and got Champions League football."
Ten Hag was appointed Manchester United manager in July 2022 and impressed in his debut campaign at Old Trafford. He ended the club's six-year trophy drought by guiding them to the Carabao Cup and a third-placed finish.
How can Manchester United finish this season?
The Red Devils have no chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Their best hope of European qualification is the UEFA Europa League although their chances are fading for Europe altogether.
Ten Hag's men sit eighth in the league with three games remaining. If they remain there they'll fail to qualify for Europe but an FA Cup final win against Manchester City changes matters.
If Manchester United beat City at Wembley on May 25 they'll automatically be in next season's Europa League no matter their league finish. They have a difficult run-in as they face Arsenal (May 12), Newcastle United (May 15), and Brighton & Hove Albion (May 19).