Erik ten Hag sack: Old Trafford legend rants ‘these are not Man Utd players’ and demands entire squad is dismantled
EX-MANCHESTER UNITED hero Tim Howard has called for a complete DISMANTLING of the squad.
The Red Devils’ season went from bad to worse last Sunday when they were thumped 3-0 by Tottenham at Old Trafford.
The defeat has put even more pressure on the shoulders of manager Erik ten Hag, who has vehemently defended his position with his trophy haul since being at the club.
But the team’s inconsistency since the Dutchman took charge has prompted intense scrutiny of the £550million he’s spent on his squad, which former Red Devil Howard insists aren’t fit to wear the shirt.
In an explosive rant, the retired goalkeeper and NBC Sports pundit said: “They doubled down on Ten Hag and backed him by bringing in more of his players.
“When you look at the squad it’s not a brilliant squad, they spent a lot of money on some average players, certainly not Manchester United players.
‘If you get rid of him then you have to dismantle this team he has created.”
Ten Hag was expected to be given the chop at the end of last season but seemingly saved his bacon by winning the FA Cup.
But Howard has another theory for why the United brass didn’t hand the 54-year-old his P45.
The American, who made 77 appearances for the Red Devils, continued: “I’m not sure why they didn’t, maybe financial reasons.
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“Or they didn’t have the right person in place to replace him or maybe they truly believed he was the right person.
“I’m not sure that it looks that way.”
October will be a pivotal month in the Red Devils’ domestic and European campaigns and could potentially make or break their season, which Ten Hag is adamant WILL be a “success.”
He told Sky Sports: “We are going to make a success from the season.
“Nothing is easy, but this is nothing for me to panic about.
“We can sort [the problems] out, this team can sort this out.”
When asked if he fears he may be sacked if the next two games don’t go his troops’ way, he added: “I’m not thinking about it, I’m not anxious.
“We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership.
“We made this agreement, and we were all behind it. We know the strategy [is to bring in] young players in a transition period.
“They also know in May in all my last six seasons there were always trophies and that is what we are aiming for.”
United will be back in action this evening, travelling to Lisbon to take on Porto in their second Europa League outing of the campaign.