Neville informed Man Utd what they mustn’t do amid supervisor hunt – and membership listened
Gary Neville said Manchester United couldn’t afford to wait around for Gareth Southgate as he correctly predicted Erik ten Hag would keep his job.
The future of Ten Hag has been a hot topic since a performance review was initiated after a season that saw United finish eighth place in the Premier League and make an early exit from the Champions League. Surprisingly though, they triumphed over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
The outcome of that review is now out, confirming Ten Hag’s continuation with a likely contract extension to boot. His current deal runs till next summer. Just before the resolution of Ten Hag’s situation, ex-United defender and Sky Sports pundit Neville shared his latest view on the matter via the Overlap Newsletter.
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He emphasised the need for quick resolution, writing: “Every day it seems another manager is ruled out of the Manchester United job. The club needs to get this sorted before the Euros and it looks like it’s heading in one direction.
“It isn’t cruel to have kept Erik ten Hag hanging for two weeks whilst Manchester United review the last two years of his work. He must accept that the season he delivered wasn’t good enough in terms of the heavy defeats that United suffered and the lack of cohesion in the team structure, especially when you consider the shots on goal conceded.
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“The fact is, he probably would have been gone by now if he had lost the FA Cup final and no one was really anticipating a performance like that, a display on which you could almost hang your hat. But I don’t think he can complain that United have taken their time to consider options.
“Any Manchester United manager finishing eighth knows that their job is on the line. But we’re coming to a point where having assessed the market, my hunch is that he will stay and start the season.”
If Ten Hag had been shown the door, Neville believes United would have targeted Southgate over Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel. He added: “Sir Dave Brailsford, Director of Sport at Ineos, and Dan Ashworth, the incoming Director of Football, are very methodical process-driven people and that is clearly the route they will go.
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“Pochettino and Tuchel are probably more about instinct and using the force of their personality. The fact that they haven’t appointed either of them seems to indicate that United are leaning towards a Gareth Southgate-type manager, who can lead a process-driven culture change at the club.
“But there’s no way that they can hang on waiting for Southgate. I don’t think they will let it go on into the Euros as that will start to look clunky and clumsy.”
“The longer this goes on the more people will think Southgate is in the frame and that will turn the heat on him. I don’t actually see Gareth at Manchester United as a fit for him or the club.
“But regardless of that, if they do want him, I don’t think Gareth would risk his reputation, for integrity, by doing anything to jeopardise this Euro 2024 campaign. As such, I don’t think he will be Manchester United’s manager at the start of next season.
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“For me, it’s inconceivable and impossible that Ten Hag could turn up at pre-season training in early July, run the club for a few weeks, allow England to finish their Euros campaign so that Sir Dave Brailsford then gets the opportunity to talk to Southgate and appoint him sometime in August.
“United need a decision for the new season now. It can’t be made in pre-season. I understand why United have taken a little longer, but with no real candidate emerging, they need now to confirm Ten Hag.
“Even though it looks like they’ve spoken to other people, I suspect everyone can be grown up, shake hands and get on with the job, even though Ten Hag knows he isn’t their No.1 choice.”
