Gary Neville sends clear message to Manchester United owners over sacking Erik ten Hag

Gary Neville hopes Erik ten Hag stays at Manchester United (Pictures: Getty)

Gary Neville has told Manchester United’s owners Erik ten Hag has ‘earned the right’ to keep his job at Old Trafford after the ‘beautiful’ FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.

United’s owners are currently deciding whether to sack Ten Hag or give the Dutchman more time to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Build-up to Saturday’s FA Cup final win was dominated by speculation Ten Hag would lose his job regardless of the outcome of the game.

But Neville believes the surprising 2-1 win over Premier League champions Man City – as well as an absence of other ‘outstanding candidates’ – means Ten Hag should keep his job.

Manchester United, who slumped to their lowest-ever Premier League finish this season, have been linked with Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, ex-Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and free agent Roberto De Zerbi.

‘I couldn’t face going to Wembley on Saturday,’ Neville said on The Overlap newsletter, brought to you by Sky Bet. ‘That’s how little confidence I had in United’s ability to stop City doing the double again!

‘And yet it turned out to be a beautiful day. And a great performance after a horrible season that might just change everything for Erik ten Hag…

Ten Hag celebrates the FA Cup win with Bruno Fernandes (Picture: Getty)

‘There’s no doubt Ten Hag’s FA Cup win has put Manchester United in an awkward position. This has been an unacceptably poor Premier League season for the club.

‘Of course, Ten Hag will argue that he hasn’t had anything like a consistent enough squad to pick from, especially his back four. But even so, the lack of control in many games has been alarming.

‘And yet he has two cups in two years. He has proven he can win trophies with this side. He has matched Jose Mourinho as the most successful United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson.

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‘I think he’s earned the right to go on. It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement but the first consideration when removing a manager is you have the right and better replacement.

‘Simply there is no outstanding candidate to replace him that would make an immediate and massive upgrade. 

‘If you have the opportunity to appoint someone like Jurgen Klopp, as Liverpool did in 2015, or Pep Guardiola, as City did in 2016, then it makes sense to change.

‘But there’s no-one out here who will suddenly take this United squad on to another level. They might do somewhat better but even with Guardiola in charge, this United team wouldn’t win the Premier League.’

Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with the Old Trafford job (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United may have just about rescued a dismal season by winning the FA Cup, with the shock victory over Man City sending them into the Europa League.

Ten Hag was in a punchy mood after the FA Cup win and said he will ‘go somewhere else’ and win trophies ‘if they don’t want me’.

Asked about his future at Old Trafford, Ten Hag added: ‘I don’t know [if he will still be in charge next season].

‘The only thing I’m doing is preparing my team, developing my team. This is a project for me. When I came in I can say it was a mess. Now we are better. We are not where we want to be.’

Manchester United defender Jonny Evans backed Ten Hag to keep his job after the Wembley win, saying: ‘You want a manager who shows trust and belief.

‘I’ve only got really good things to say about him. Over the last month, he has shown incredible tactical flexibility.

‘Sitting off and counter-attacking is not the style he sees himself coaching but he has recognised the right time to do it and has done it.’

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