Contenders for Erik ten Hag’s job concerned over constant noise from former Man Utd players
Michael Owen and Paul Scholes were damning in their assessment of Man Utd’s display against Crystal Palace – PLP
Manchester United’s army of opinionated former players are prompting reservations among some of the potential candidates to succeed Erik ten Hag as manager.
Telegraph Sport revealed on Tuesday that United have no intention of sacking Ten Hag before the FA Cup final, despite calls from former players of the club to make an immediate change.
Monday night’s embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace prompted ex-United striker Michael Owen to claim Ten Hag should be sacked straight away, with Paul Scholes agreeing that his assistant coach Steve McClaren would do a better job.
But Telegraph Sport understands United do not plan to sack Ten Hag before the final against Manchester City on May 25 and that a final decision on his future will not be taken until the club’s season has finished.
The calls from Owen and Scholes are just the latest example of former United players-turned-pundits having their say on the club and more pertinently the future and performance of the manager.
Telegraph Sport knows of at least two potential candidates for the United job, should they decide to make a change, who harbour concerns over the constant noise and debate created by opinionated ex-players.
Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Scholes and Owen are among a group of prominent former players who offer strong opinions on United and the club’s managers.
There is no suggestion any candidate would turn down the post if it were offered because of the opinions of ex-players, but it is an issue that would be taken into consideration and is ultimately viewed as making the job harder.
One source said: “No English club has as many ex-players talking about all the great things they did at the club in the past and creating so many headlines with their opinions about the manager. Nobody can think it is helpful.”
United’s defeat by Palace prompted fierce criticism of Ten Hag from Owen and Scholes, who spoke on Premier League Productions.
Owen said: “At some point you’ve got to make a decision, they’re going to get absolutely hammered by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], they’re going to get annihilated, in fact. Arsenal will smash them to bits at Old Trafford, Newcastle will probably beat them and I wouldn’t even fancy them going to Brighton either. They might not get anything out of the rest of the season, playing like that.
“I just wonder. There’s just so much at stake, even if it’s only for four games, I wonder whether the board might just have to try to do something here and now and be quite radical about it. He cannot, simply cannot, manage this team next season. He’s not good enough. I’ve thought it for ages, and he’s just not good enough to manage Manchester United.”
Owen and Scholes question McClaren influence
On the influence of McClaren, Owen added: “There is no way his fingerprints are anywhere near that team. He is a brilliant coach and that team is not being coached at all.”
Scholes, who also played under McClaren, said: “He’s not touching that team. The manager must not be letting him touch that team because everyone thinks we (Owen’s United) were a great team that attacked everybody but Steve McClaren put sessions on to make sure we stopped other teams, getting the distances and angles right.
“There’s not actually that many bad players at United is there? It looks like they’re not being coached, when it looks like being the manager’s fault. It looks like the fight has gone out of them.”
United’s decision not to sack Ten Hag before the FA Cup final may give the Dutchman some hope he can somehow cling on to his job with an unlikely victory at Wembley, but the Palace defeat has put him at even greater risk.
With no view to making a change now, United sources insist their decision at the end of the season will be taken with proper reflection and full discussion of the situation. New technical director Jason Wilcox is carrying out an audit on behalf of the new hierarchy and will make a number of recommendations, as well as assessing the manager’s relationship with the dressing room.
Ten Hag’s communication with his squad is said to have caused issues this season with some sources believing he is lacking in motivational skills and empathy.
United chiefs had given up on Ten Hag’s team making an unlikely run to qualify for the Champions League some time ago. That has since become mathematically impossible, but the club are in danger of missing out on European qualification altogether.
With three games left to play in the Premier League, United are now down in eighth place and entertain title-chasers Arsenal on Sunday before hosting in-form Newcastle United and making a final-day trip to Brighton.
That leaves United with an uphill task to clinch Europa League or Europa Conference League qualification ahead of Newcastle and Chelsea. Winning the FA Cup would secure qualification for the Europa League, but they must beat City after needing penalties to progress past Coventry City in the semi-finals.
If United were to miss out on Europe entirely, the club would effectively be operating a sell-to-buy policy this summer. The anticipated departures of Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane and Brandon Williams would clear around £600,000 a week off the wage bill and free up money to reinvest in a signing.
But with the purse strings already tight after a £555 million spend over the past three seasons, the loss of all revenue from European participation coupled with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules would place a huge onus on United to sell well in the summer window.
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