Former star Paul Merson does not believe that Erik ten Hag is the right manager for , claiming he is too similar to .
The boss is reportedly very close to being appointed as the new United manager, following weeks of talks where the Dutchman outlined his plans to the Red Devils’ hierarchy.
A two-time Eredivisie winner, Ten Hag gained notoriety for taking Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, beating Real Madrid and Juventus along the way.
If appointed, he will be tasked with rebuilding United’s squad with the aim of restoring the glory days to Old Trafford, something that all of Sir Alex Ferguson’s successors, including current interim-manager Rangnick, have failed to do.
However, despite his impressive reputation, Merson is unconvinced that Ten Hag is the right man for United right now, writing in his column: ‘Erik ten Hag has managed in a two-team league for however many years. He’s never worked in this league before, and he’s never really worked with massive football players.
‘He’s been at places where he’s motivating players towards getting big moves. Ten Hag might be a good coach, but he’s worked with hungry footballers whereas the United players are already at the top.’
Concerns about Ten Hag’s ability to motivate older, more experienced players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba have been raised before, and one of United’s biggest problems of late has been the mentality in the dressing room, described by Nemanja Matic as, ‘not fantastic’ only a few weeks ago.
Following their embarrassing 1-0 defeat at Everton last Saturday, United are currently seventh in the Premier League, six points off Tottenham Hotspur who occupy the coveted last Champions League spot, with just seven games remaining.
‘These Manchester United players are at the biggest club in the world but judging by how they’ve performed, you’d think they were pulling teeth,’ Merson added.
‘You’ve got fans who go to every away game, and you’ve got the players who just shrug and want to get the season out of the way.
‘They’re still in with a shout of finishing in the top four but they’ve been absolutely atrocious. For me, this is what United deserve after bringing in an interim manager.
‘It’s been a shambles from the day Ralf Rangnick walked into the club. I’m not saying it’s his fault, but United needed to get their permanent manager in immediately after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked. This is Manchester United. It’s stop-start.
‘Rangnick came in with a reputation, but he’s worked with players lower down. He’s worked in the Bundesliga where the mentality was also about challenging players to get a bigger move.
‘It’s the same with Ten Hag. He’s going to come in and work with players who are already there, players who at 22 will be on £150,000 a week. How do you get them going?’
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