Robbie Savage believes Erik ten Hag should be given until Christmas to turn things around at Manchester United following the club’s humiliating defeat at home to rivals Manchester City. The Manchester derby has often been a close affair with emotions running high and not much separating the two giants of English football.
But Ten Hag’s side were played off the park in a performance that saw a smattering of boos ring around Old Trafford at full-time. That 3-0 defeat has already left United eight points adrift of the Champions League places.
And there’s growing pressure on United to avoid any further setbacks after a sluggish start to their European group stage as well. They’re currently third having won just one of their three matches and have two away fixtures next against Copenhagen and Galatasaray.
There’s been a growing toxic atmosphere at the club in recent weeks with questions being asked on the transfer strategy at United once again. Ten Hag has been financially backed, but most signings have failed to deliver under the Dutchman.
United won’t want this season to be lost after a promising campaign last year and any further setbacks will put more pressure on Ten Hag. Savage wants the United manager to be given until Christmas to try and turn things around, but he feels that Ten Hag may be up against it.
Savage told Planet Sport Bet: “If you look at the time Erik ten Hag has had and compare it with Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool or Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the stark difference is no-one knows how Manchester United play or at least what they are trying to do. It’s a bit of a mess right now and while I still believe they need to give Erik ten Hag until Christmas to get things right, he’s certainly had enough time to make the club challenge and be competitive against the likes of City.
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“They are a million miles away from that and the stat that really struck me was that in 26 years under Sir Alex Ferguson, United only lost 34 league games at home. In the 10 years since he left, they’ve now lost the same number. We’ve got to stop saying ‘it’s Manchester United’. The fact of the matter is that Manchester United are turning into an average team.”
United will be hoping to put the Manchester derby defeat behind them in the Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle tonight. Ten Hag led United to glory in the competition last season with United beating Newcastle in the final.
But the Red Devils manager will unlikely be able to call upon Casemiro, who is still recovering from an injury he picked up on international duty.
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