For Paul Scholes, the task facing Manchester United post-Erik ten Hag is to find a manager capable of handling expectations while also instilling an exciting, successful brand of play.
That, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co discovered during the summer, is likely to be easier said than done.
Erik ten Hag might have been determined to remind everyone at every available opportunity that it was he who ended Manchester United’s six-year trophy drought while masterminding a victory over Pep Guardiola at Wembley only a few months ago.
But the odd piece of silverware does not – and should not – distract from an eight-place Premier League finish.
On current form, United slipping to 14th after losing 2-1 at West Ham on Sunday, even a top-half spot feels fanciful.
Paul Scholes gives view on Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United exit
“It has been a struggle to find the right man,” Scholes tells the official Premier League website, the shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson looming as large as ever over his many unsuccessful predecessors
“Jose Mourinho, [Louis] Van Gaal, obviously David Moyes, and then Ten Hag came in from Ajax. It was a little bit of a risk but there have been four or five different people where you think you have always got a chance [of succeeding] with them.
“Now, they are onto the next one. Whoever that may be, he has to be best in class. That is what Manchester United need.
“To manage Manchester United, I do think you need to have the full package. Expectations at that club are huge. The last couple of years have been so poor. 14th in the Premier League after nine games, they haven’t won a European game yet, so [Ten Hag being sacked] was inevitable.
“[Ineos] have to do their homework and I’m sure they have.”
The good news is that Ineos already appear to have a solid shortlist of potential replacements.
Former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez would be a high-profile appointment, certainly. One who boasts a huge reputation in world football, as well as title-winning pedigree.
The Daily Mail reports that Omar Berrada, United’s new CEO and a former Barcelona employee, has spoken to the 2010 World Cup winner in Spain recently.
Thomas Frank of Brentford and Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim are also in contention.
For Scholes, however, Frank’s success in establishing Frank as a settled Premier League outfit offers little indication of his suitability for the United hotseat. And while Ruben Amorim is a multi-league winning manager in Portugal, the same could be said of Ten Hag in the Netherlands.
Scholes gives verdict on Ruben Amorim and Thomas Frank
“Amorim is an interesting one. But, again, that is a risky one,” Scholes adds, the 39-year-old also a candidate to replace Pep Guardiola on the other side of Manchester.
“We all know the style of play. [Amorim] plays really good football. We’ve been talking about him for City. that obviously tells you something about his pedigree.
“Most of these managers, they’ve ben at clubs where the expectation probably is not as high. I look at Thomas Frank and I see that. He might be a very capable manager for Manchester United but expectations are not [at Brentford] what they are at Manchester United.”
Scholes, a two-time Champions League winner in happier times at Old Trafford, would relish the appointment of a manager who has proven himself capable of claiming the biggest honours at Europe’s biggest clubs.
Unfortunately for him, Thomas Tuchel is now in the England dugout. Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, meanwhile, appears to have little appetite for working in the Premier League.
“I was a big Thomas Tuchel fan but obviously that’s gone,” Scholes sighs. “He’s managed elite clubs, he’s won big trophies with big clubs. I think [Ten Hag’s replacement] needs to have experience at an elite football club.
“This is one of the very biggest clubs in the world, so they should have the very best in class.
“Zidane is the one who has been at a major, major club and won major honours. But I am not sure how educated he is with the English language or whether he actually wants to come to England.
“You never get that feeling with him.”
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