Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand has savaged Erik ten Hag and claimed that outside of individual moments from three players, there is no “way of playing” under the Dutch head coach.
United are languishing in 12th place in the Premier League table and have already been on the receiving end of heavy home defeats to Liverpool and most recently Tottenham, where the Red Devils looked devoid of ideas in a 3-0 loss on Sunday.
Further pressure has been piled on Ten Hag, who looks set to stay on for this week’s matches against Porto and Aston Villa, but just a few months on from a contract extension he is facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford.
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Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi is the newest name linked with what could soon be a vacant position, while Graham Potter refused to rule out the prospect of replacing Ten Hag while on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
Scrutiny has reached new levels and Ferdinand has been the latest figure to question Ten Hag, insisting that only through individual moments of brilliance from Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho the team is lacking any personality.
“I can’t see an Erik ten Hag way of playing,” Ferdinand said on his FIVE podcast. “Nothing is by design at Manchester United right now, with or without the ball. I look at Man United with the ball now and for a long time it is - if Bruno’s going to create a moment, that’s it, we’re going to get goals or get chances.
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“Rashford’s gonna do something or Garnacho, individual moments is all Man United have lived and breathed on for the last year or two. And I just think to myself that can’t last forever.
“When I look at us without the ball as well, I don’t see no designing to say: ‘This is the way we’re going to defend a certain situation’. I did see it earlier in the season, in glimpses, but like I said you can’t have glimpses at this level.”
But for now, at least, Ten Hag is not considering his future and is only focused on improving the team with a crucial run of games coming up.
"No, I am not thinking about this," he said when asked after defeat to Spurs in a staunch defence of United’s start to the season. "We all made this decision to stay together, as an ownership, as a leadership group in the summer.
"Also we made the decision from a clear review what we have to improve as an organisation and how we want to construct a squad.
"But we knew it will take some time because of how the window went, some players late in like (Manuel) Ugarte. Also we have to make some improvement in organisation, we still have some injuries, we need some time.
"We are all on one page or in one boat together - the ownership, the leadership group, the staff and the players as well. I don't have that concern."
