Gary Neville has slammed Manchester United’s summer recruitment policy for its role in manager Erik ten Hag’s sacking – but says the Red Devils should not sign anyone in January.
With ten Hag sacked just two-and-a-half years into his tenure at the club, pundits are speculating on the various reasons behind the Dutchman’s downfall – least of which is their poor standing in the Premier League by their standards, this season.
Former United defender Neville said he ‘saw [ten Hag’s] sacking coming’ after a terrible run of results in the league, but has specifically pointed towards the performances of the players on the pitch as a major contributing factor as to why he lost his job.
Neville also believes whomever is appointed United’s next manager should work with the players within the squad, rather than make a raft of new signings in January, and has urged interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy to try a different tactical approach.
‘The challenges of the performances, the owners have decided to sack Ten Hag, I don’t think anybody will be shocked,’ Neville told Sky Sports News.
Gary Neville shared his reaction to Man United manager Erik ten Hag’s (pictured) sacking
Former United defender Neville slammed the club and ten Hag’s recruitment policy
‘There will be those that say they have been proven right, fans wanted to continue with Ten Hag, give him an opportunity to succeed under a new structure.
‘The spend that’s occurred. I was hoping it would end differently, the faith shown in him would pay off, but it’s not the case.
‘I think the lack of identity and style has been a mystery, recruitment has been poor. It’s been awful at times. I believe there’s a group of players who can play better than they are.
‘The shock has been how bad they’ve been, the new signings, to get a good performance and some stability. 14th? It’s unacceptable.’
Since ten Hag joined United in 2022, the club has spent more than £600million on bringing new talent in. Key signings have included Lisandro Martinez, Rasmus Højlund, Antony, Andre Onana and Mason Mount, but very few have impressed within the various systems he’s employed.
‘No-one watches United and doesn’t think the players are better than what they are showing. They are better than 14th and probably better than sixth.
With United execs now searching for a new manager, and Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the first team on an interim basis. Neville said he’ll have a task on his hands, as will ten Hag’s successor, with the current squad he has.
‘United have been in this position many times, you begin to question every player on the pitch. If a manager can come in and start to get a song out of them, you can start deciding who to keep.
But Neville believes the existing squad should be made to make things work. ‘I would not change anything in the January transfer window,’ Neville said. ‘The new manager should be made to work with these players.’
Intermin manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has been urged to try a new tactical approach
Neville believes a new tactical approach could be key to United finding a new vein of form in the meantime, and that fielding a three-man defence could provide more solidity within the team.
Asked if Van Nistelrooy can rework the team’s identity in the meantime, Neville replied: ‘I mean it’ll be almost impossible wouldn’t it, for him to do that in the next few days.
‘Ruud van Nistelrooy will do his very best, I have thought for a number of months that looking at the players United have they may be better suited to going three at the back, purely because of a lack of a centre-back pairing and the full-backs, to be fair, look better going forward than they do defensively.
‘So maybe that could happen, maybe that might give them a little bit more comfort because it would give them an extra body at the back but also get the players into a system whereby they’ve got more support.’
Neville added: ‘That’s something I’ve thought for a few months, but whether Ruud does that and whether that’s the right way to go I’m not sure.
‘It’s ultimately in this moment in time something that we’ll see against Leicester on Wednesday night whether he believed in what Erik was doing because he’ll pick a different team if he didn’t.’
Erik ten Hag has won two major pieces of domestic silverware in his time at Old Trafford
A statement from the club read: ‘We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.
Ten Hag’s former assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach alongside the current coaching team, as United’s leadership decide their next step.
Erik ten Hag joined Man United from Ajax in April 2022. He had previously managed Utrecht and Bayern Munich II.
In his first season in charge, ten Hag guided United to their first trophy in six years, the Carabao Cup. Last season – his next – was disappointing by United’s standards, but he still managed to take the club to an FA Cup final and beat fierce local rivals, Manchester City.
