Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has now used Erik ten Hag to present a key difference between the former Manchester United manager and the likes of Michael Carrick.
Erik ten Hag was sacked as Manchester United manager in 2024 after the Red Devils struggled under the Dutchman in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
The 56-year-old former United manager arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax in 2022 and Ten Hag led the Red Devils to both the FA Cup and League Cup trophies.
Ten Hag was replaced by ex-Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim, who met the same fate as the former Ajax boss and was later succeeded by Michael Carrick.
Michael Carrick now has more wins than Ruben Amorim this season in seven fewer games! What does this tell you…?
Gary Neville on the key difference between Erik ten Hag at Man Utd compared with Michael Carrick and Co
Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United exit in 2026 paved the way for Michael Carrick to take his place in the Old Trafford hot seat as interim Red Devils head coach.
Carrick has impressed during his interim reign and the 44-year-old United legend has been tipped to succeed Amorim on a permanent basis at Old Trafford this summer.
Gary Neville placed the spotlight on United’s last five managers, ranging from the interim spell of Ralf Rangnick to the permanent reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Speaking alongside Paul Scholes, Neville said that former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag was the only manager to have coached at what he deemed a “big club” in football.
“You can’t think short-term like that, I don’t think,” he explained on The Overlap’s ‘Fan Debate’ show.
“We’ve just had Rangnick; we’ve just had Solskjaer, Rangnick, Ten Hag, Amorim and Michael.
“They’re our last five managers. Not one of them has ever managed at what I would call the ‘super club level,’ which is with the expectations of United.
“Maybe you could argue Ten Hag at Ajax is a big club, [but] it’s not the level of Manchester United in terms of Europe and globally.”
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Gary Neville on what he saw from Man Utd’s last four managers amid Michael Carrick’s reign at Old Trafford
Neville claimed that it would be difficult to buy into the idea now of Man Utd appointing a permanent manager who does not have a major pedigree behind them.
The 51-year-old former Man Utd captain added that Carrick’s four predecessors struggled to make a major impact at Old Trafford before they left the club.
“Those five managers have just sort of taken care of the club,” Neville continued.
“The four previous ones have struggled, and we’ve had to basically sort of get rid of them.
“The idea of appointing another manager hasn’t got what would be that sort of massive super club experience that means that they’ve won Champions Leagues, they’ve won titles, they’ve handled massive players on a constant basis.”
The United legend added: “That’s scrutiny. I just feel to me like we’ve got to… I know people say, yeah, but Jose [Mourinho] came and he failed, but you can’t just say because a great man…
“That’s just an argument, again, of [a] lack [insurance].”
Carrick, who returned to Old Trafford back in January, now has four matches left in his interim head coach reign at Man Utd in the 2025-26 campaign.
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