Pundit suggests Ten Hag has one game before Man Utd sack, with job ‘too big’ for struggling Dutchman

Erik ten Hag will be at risk of being sacked by Manchester United if his team loses their first game following the international break, a former Arsenal and Chelsea star has hinted.

Ten Hag is under increasing pressure to turn things around at Old Trafford following a very underwhelming start to the new campaign. Man Utd sit 14th in the Premier League table with just three points from their opening three games, having lost to Brighton and Liverpool in their last two outings.

The defeat to Liverpool was particularly damaging as it showed how far Man Utd appear to be behind the potential title challengers, despite Arne Slot only arriving at Anfield over the summer.

Fabrizio Romano has insisted that the INEOS hierarchy remains firmly behind Ten Hag, though that will surely change if things have not improved in the build up to Christmas.

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It emerged on Friday morning that club chiefs Dan Ashworth and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have told the ex-Ajax boss his players must start to dominate opposition teams if he is to keep his job.

They are fed up with watching a star-studded and expensive Man Utd side rely on counter attacks and individual brilliance for success.

Some pundits have urged Ratcliffe to swing the axe immediately as it does not look like Ten Hag will ever get Man Utd to catch up with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

William Gallas, who represented all of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in his playing days, does not think Ten Hag will go over the international break, although the upcoming trip to Southampton on September 14 is a must-win.

Ten Hag sack: Pundit issues Man Utd warning

“Manchester United, from what I’ve seen, have very little chance of finishing in the top four this season. In all honesty I don’t think it will be long before Erik ten Hag is sacked,” Gallas said in quotes carried by the Manchester Evening News.

“How can they lose 3-0 at home to Liverpool? Their former players must be mad after what they saw during that game at Old Trafford. It’s simply not acceptable.

“If they lose to Southampton and he’s sacked, I won’t be surprised. They’ve made more new signings and now it’s his third season.

“Maybe Manchester United is too big a club for Erik ten Hag. The pressure is too much for him.”

In the aftermath of Liverpool’s memorable win over Man Utd, pundit Gary Neville threw Ten Hag’s future into doubt by saying: “Manchester United made terrible errors in possession, Casemiro in the first half, Kobbie Mainoo in the second. Liverpool pounced all over them Jurgen Klopp-style, winning the ball high up the pitch and then being devastating and precise.

“Mo Salah in particular with those two passes in the first half for Diaz, and the finishes were fantastic.

“The next goal was always going to be important in the second half, Man Utd didn’t get it, Liverpool did. They fully deserved their victory today.

“It was a sobering day for Erik ten Hag, a sobering day for United’s players and for the new ownership sat in the stands en masse looking at it and thinking, ‘are we on the right path here?’

“That’s the question that they’ll have to ask in the next few months.”

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