Gary Neville says Erik ten Hag will be gone by Christmas if things don’t improve at Man United as Jamie Carragher claims not sacking him during the summer was ‘probably delaying the inevitable’
Gary Neville believes that Manchester United will sack Erik ten Hag before the end of the season if things do not improve.
United lost for the second time in nine days as they were thrashed 3-0 at home by fierce rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Ten Hag’s side had started the season with a 1-0 with over Fulham before losing 2-1 at Brighton.
The Dutchman was widely 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 he was saved after beating Man 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 – could soon run out of patience.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag pictured after his side’s 3-0 defeat by Liverpool
‘Every manager that comes to this club has struggled,’ former United captain Neville said during his post-game analysis for Sky Sports.
‘And there is a feeling today of, are we going to go through the same thing again? But I think it’s a time for a bit of calm, it’s an international break, which is probably well needed for United.
‘But Erik ten Hag is going to have to get the club into a position sort of challenging the Champions League towards 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 two new coaches in, that is not always ideal as well. So there’s new messaging coming in, even though he’s been here for two years. There’s new technical directors, CEOs. There is a lot of change at the club.
‘There are a lot of staff that have been here a long time that are leaving as well. So look, there was going to be some pain along the way of actually, if you like, interfering with the Glazer ownership. We’re seeing that pain right here today.
‘It’s not going to change quickly. It’s a sobering day for United, but one that I think just requires some calm, because we want to change of ownership, and we’ve got that, and we’ve got that, and there is some things happening, and we have to let it settle in embedding.’
Ex-United captain Gary Neville was part of the Sky Sports punditry team for Sunday’s match
Jamie Carragher compared Ten Hag’s situation to that of Brendan Rodgers shortly before he was sacked by Liverpool’s FSG ownership group in 2015.
The ex-Liverpool skipper said: ‘What we saw there, we saw a lot last season with teams just running at Manchester United’s back four. I’ve seen this with Liverpool, actually. You go back before Jurgen Klopp came in, and it was talk of Brendan Rodgers losing his job at the end of one season. He (Liverpool owner John Henry) wasn’t sure what to do and he kept him, and he changed his staff – exactly what Eric ten Hag has done here.’
Rodgers was sacked in October in 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 yeah, 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 that Ratcliffe and United’s directors did not sack Ten Hag in the summer because ‘they didn’t have the nerve’, Carragher claimed that 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 bit at the end. They use the word bottle up there on the gantry. That’s why we’re arguing for 20 minutes. Well, he said that the ownership bottled it, not getting rid of him. Oh my God. How can you say they bottled it? They were really open about the fact that they went and looked for a manager to try and replace Erik ten Hag they couldn’t find one.
‘Bayern Munich had a few months to replace [Thomas] Tuchel and found it difficult and ended up employing someone who was their third or fourth choice. Liverpool had six months to replace Klopp and Arne Slot was third choice. It wasn’t easy to get a manager at the end of last season for Manchester United, or any club in Europe.’
Carragher hit back: ‘You are openly admitting that they were looking for a new manager… exactly, because they’re looking for somebody else… so they don’t want this manager. If you’re happy with your manager, you don’t start speaking to other managers.’
