Neville names three managers Manchester United must not hire to replace Ten Hag

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All of those tipping Manchester United to move on from Erik ten Hag appear to be missing quite an intriguing point. 

If the Dutchman was not yet at Old Trafford and the Red Devils were pursuing a new head coach, Erik ten Hag would probably be exactly the sort of appointment Ineos would look to make. A forward-thinking tactician with a proven track record not only for promoting youth but for domestic and Champions League success. 

Can you really apportion the same attributes to any of the names tipped to take the former Ajax boss’ place? Gary Neville doesn’t think so, the Manchester United legend telling the latest edition of The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast that none of the managers currently on the market – and that includes Graham Potter, Gareth Southgate or Gary O’Neill – would arrive at Old Trafford with a better CV than the one which earned Ten Hag his shot at arguably Europe’s biggest club. 

Manchester United could keep Erik ten Hag

“I would like to see him stay in the sense that I’m not quite sure, at the moment, who else is out there. If Jurgen Klopp  was on the market or you could get a world-class manager in, it might be a different story,” Neville, an eight-time Premier League champion under Sir Alex Ferguson, argues. 

“When you look at the options, we could end up with someone who isn’t as good as Erik ten Hag and hasn’t got his pedigree. Ten Hag also has two years’ of experience at Old Trafford now. The fact he’s had that good first season and then a difficult one means he should be better for it.”

Roberto de Zerbi, Thomas Frank and Thiago Motta have also been mentioned. Ten Hag, lest we forget, guided United to a third-place finish and an EFL Cup in 2022/23, and he surely deserves the chance to build on that fine start under the sort of structure provided by Ineos. 

United could yet secure a Champions League spot this term too. A second successive FA Cup final is just 90 minutes away too. 

Neville dismisses Gareth Southgate links

“For me, I don’t like the idea of him leaving and United bringing in the kind of names that have been suggested,” Neville adds. “That doesn’t feel right. I would rather stick with Ten Hag and believe in him. If he has another season like this, he obviously won’t still be there (in the future).

“But we could still win the FA Cup and we could sneak into the Champions League.

“As well as Gareth Southgate has done with England, I’ve never seen that as a fit with Man Utd. I don’t see Graham Potter as a fit and that’s been a strong rumour too. I don’t see the fit between Gary O’Neil and United.”