Manchester United’s army of die-hard ex-players is causing reservations among some of the the potential candidates to succeed Erik ten Hag as coach.
Telegraph Sport revealed on Tuesday that United have no intention of sacking manager Ten Hag sooner the FA Cup finaldespite calls from the club’s former players for an immediate change.
Monday night’s embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace led former United striker Michael Owen to claim that Ten Hag should be sacked immediately, with Paul Scholes agreeing that his assistant manager Steve McClaren would do a better job.
But Telegraph Sport understands United have no plans to fire Ten Hag ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 25, and that a final decision on his future will not be made until the end of the club’s season.
Owen and Scholes’ links are just the latest example of former United players becoming experts and having a say in the club and, more pertinently, the manager’s future and performance.
Telegraph Sport knows of at least two potential candidates for the United job, should they decide to make a move, who have concerns about the constant noise and debate created by stubborn ex-players.
Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Scholes and Owen are among a group of prominent former players who offer strong opinions about United and the club’s management.
There is no suggestion that any candidate would turn down the role if offered because of the views of former players, but it is an issue that would be taken into account and ultimately seen as making the job difficult.
A source said: “No English club has so many former players talking about all the great things they did at the club in the past and creating so many headlines with their opinions of the manager. No one can think it is useful.”
United’s defeat to Palace provoked fierce criticism of Owen and Scholes’ Ten Hagwho spoke at Premier League Productions.
Owen said: “At some point you have to make a decision, they will be completely outplayed by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], they will be annihilated, in fact. Arsenal will tear them to pieces at Old Trafford, Newcastle will probably beat them and I wouldn’t want them to go to Brighton either. They might not get anything out of the rest of the season by playing like this.
“I just wonder if there’s so much at stake, even if it’s just for four games, I wonder if the board are going to have to try and do something here and now and be quite radical about it. He cannot, simply cannot, lead this team next season. He’s not good enough. I have thought about this for a long time and he is simply not good enough to manage Manchester United.”
Owen and Scholes question McClaren’s influence
Regarding McClaren’s influence, Owen added: “There’s no way his fingerprints were anywhere near that team. He is a brilliant coach and this team is not being coached.”
Scholes, who also played under McClaren, said: “He’s not going to play in that team. The manager shouldn’t let him touch that team because everyone thinks we were a big team that attacked everyone (Manchester United), but Steve McClaren did sessions to make sure we stopped the other teams, getting the distances and angles right.
“Actually, there aren’t that many bad players at United, are there? It seems like they are not being trained, when it seems like the coach is to blame. It seems the fight is over with them.”
United’s decision not to sack Ten Hag before the FA Cup final may give the Dutchman some hope that he can somehow keep his job with an unlikely win at Wembley, but the Palace defeat put him at even greater risk .
With no intention of making changes now, United sources insist their decision at the end of the season will be taken with due thought and full discussion of the situation. New technical director Jason Wilcox is carrying out an audit on behalf of the new hierarchy and will make a series of recommendations, as well as assessing the manager’s relationship with the dressing room.
Ten Hag’s communication with his team is said to have caused problems this season, with some sources believing he lacks motivational skills and empathy.
United chiefs gave up on Ten Hag’s side making an unlikely campaign to qualify for the Champions League some time ago. This has since become mathematically impossible, but the club is in danger of missing out on European qualification altogether.
With three games remaining in the Premier League, United are now in eighth place and host title chasers Arsenal on Sunday, before hosting in-form Newcastle United and making a final day trip to Brighton.
This leaves United with an uphill task to secure qualification for the Europa League or Europa Conference League ahead of Newcastle and Chelsea. Winning the FA Cup would guarantee qualification for the Europa League, but they need to beat City after needing penalties to get past Coventry City in the semi-finals.
If United were to miss out on Europe entirely, the club would effectively be operating a buy-sell policy this summer. The anticipated departures of Antony Martial, Raphael Varane and Brandon Williams would free up around £600,000 a week from the wage bill and free up cash to reinvest in a signing.
But with budgets already tight after spending £555m over the last three seasons, the loss of all revenue from European participation, coupled with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, would place a huge onus on United to sell right in the summer window. .
