EPL: Ferdinand backs Erik ten Hag to replace Solskjaer at Man Utd

By our reporter On Nov 16, 2021 0

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes Erik ten Hag would be a good fit at the club following his success at Ajax.

Current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under immense pressure following their recent poor run of form – including humiliating defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Ajax boss has been brought up as a potential replacement for Solskjaer, though he hasn’t been as heavily touted as Zinedine Zidane or Brendan Rodgers.

The former England defender told his FIVE Youtube channel: ‘For any manager coming into a new club, it’s almost like you’ve got to show people why you’re there immediately.

‘I use Antonio Conte as a good reference point for that. Whenever he joins a new club, there is no negotiables and he tells them, “this is what’s happening, this is what I am – if you’re not with me you can go.”

‘I think that’s the type of attitude and the type of mentality that separates the good managers from the top managers.

‘You’ve got to be able to go in there and command a whole dressing room full of egos, big personalities, big characters. That’s the job of anyone coming in.

‘Now I don’t know Ten Hag personally but he’s doing a fantastic job at Ajax.

‘Let’s remember that Ajax isn’t a small club. They’re a massive club – the biggest club in Holland.

‘Yes, it’s different and the landscape is different but it’s still a huge club that he’s got to work with and the expectation levels there every day are to win.

‘That’s something that will be there every day and would be there if he was to come to Manchester United.

‘Anyone who comes in, they’ve got to be able to deal with people. That’s the art of a fantastic manager.’

Ferdinand’s comments come after he previously said on his YouTube channel that his former team-mate should ‘hand over the baton’ at Old Trafford.

As previously reported, some of United’s biggest stars are frustrated with the club’s alarming start to the season after they were heavily expected to challenge for top honours.

Bruno Fernandes is among the senior players who feel they are not getting enough direction from Solskjaer and his coaching staff.

Cristiano Ronaldo who was one of the club’s big-name signings in the summer, is alarmed with how standards have dropped since he left United 12 years ago.

The Portuguese superstar has saved United on several occasions this season since his return but there have also been frustrating moments.

Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel at the end of United’s 1-1 draw with Everton – a game in which Ronaldo started on the bench.

Players at the club are also sympathetic with the way Donny van de Beek has been treated by Solskjaer since he arrived at Old Trafford at the start of last season.

The former Ajax star has yet to start a Premier League game this season and made just four starts last campaign.

So far, there has been no appetite among the United hierarchy to sack Solskjaer having aligned themselves so closely with the Old Trafford legend and his task of restoring the club’s true values after succeeding Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.

However, action may be forced on Solskjaer’s bosses if they decide that the former Norwegian is no longer capable of stopping the slide.

Ten Hag has been manager at Ajax since December 2017 and has guided them to two Eredivisie championships.

He also led Ajax to the semi-finals of the Champions League during the 2018-19 season where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Tottenham.