Gary Neville broke down why Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe overlooked one Premier League manager as a replacement for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag signed a new contract with Manchester United in the summer after Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed an end-of-season review at Old Trafford.
The 54-year-old United manager oversaw a mixed second season at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils suffering their worst finish in the Premier League era.
Despite leading United to eighth in the league table, Ten Hag capped off a turbulent 2024-25 campaign at the Red Devils by lifting the FA Cup trophy at Wembley in May.
Ten Hag’s long-term future had been cast in doubt after Ineos chief Ratcliffe completed a minority stake purchase in the Premier League club in 2023.
United were linked with several managers after Ratcliffe’s arrival, including former Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel and ex-England manager Gareth Southgate.
Neville’s theory on Man Utd manager situation
Erik ten Hag is once again facing mounting criticism at Old Trafford after Manchester United’s lacklustre start to the Premier League season.
The Red Devils kicked off the 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford in August before losing 2-1 to Brighton at the Amex.
Ten Hag’s woes only continued into September after Liverpool dominated United in a 3-0 win at Old Trafford ahead of the international break.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have seen three wins in three in the Premier League under manager Arne Slot, who succeeded Jurgen Klopp at Anfield in the summer.
Speaking on The Overlap, Jamie Carragher asked fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville why Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe didn’t make a move for Arne Slot.
Neville believes that United didn’t want to “basically” start all over with another Dutch manager when their Dutchman hadn’t been “backed by a proper structure.”
“I think maybe they would’ve looked at Arne Slot,” he said on the Stick to Football show.
“I haven’t got a clue, but they may have looked at him and thought can we really get rid of a guy who has two trophies in two years who hasn’t been backed by a proper structure to bring another Dutch manager in who’s basically got to start again.”
Responding to Neville, Jamie Carragher said: “What do you mean without a proper structure? He’s gone out and brought in everyone he wanted.”
Ratcliffe on keeping Ten Hag
Ratcliffe’s arrival at United has seen sweeping changes behind the scenes at Old Trafford, including the Premier League club’s football hierarchy.
Among Ineos’ changes are the arrival of Dan Ashworth from Newcastle as sporting director and Jason Wilcox’s appointment as technical director at the Red Devils.
Ratcliffe previously spoke openly about the shake-up at United and how Ineos’ new-look team at the club would support Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
“We’ve got some very good people and some fresh faces,” he told The Times in August.
“You can’t put your head in the sand, you have to face facts. It needed a fresh start, so that’s what we’ve done.
“Erik is a good guy and had been doing his best, but doing too much. He was trying to sort out the squad and fix leaks in the roof at the same time.”
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