Gary Neville drops major Erik ten Hag sack hint as Man Utd chiefs spotted at Old Trafford

Gary Neville has insisted that Manchester United are not looking to part ways with Erik ten Hag, despite the team's disappointing start to the season. The Red Devils have been struggling recently, failing to secure a win in their last five matches across all competitions.

Their goalless draw against Aston Villa on Sunday marked their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, having only managed to gather eight points from seven games.

This poor performance has put Ten Hag under immense scrutiny, and a board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in London, where co-chairmen Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer will be present.

But Neville is of the opinion that United are keen on retaining Ten Hag, stating on Sky Sports on Sunday: "They definitely won't want to do anything this season.

"No club wants to sack a manager during the middle of the season. It's not just a reflection on the manager; it's a reflection upon them.

"Even though INEOS have come into the club in the last few months in terms of taking control of the football side - and Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada have only been in for a couple of months - you can't really land the blame at their door."

Neville believes that the club needs two or three years to rectify the situation. He added: "They're going to need two or three years to sort this out.

"But the club did make the decision to keep Ten Hag in the summer, so they won't want to reverse that decision within the first six or seven games. They have just got to hope [something happens] in this next couple of weeks - through maybe a reset, some thinking time, some planning."

However, Neville has issued a stark warning that the "next few weeks are critical" for Ten Hag as he fights to keep his job.

"Manchester United fans, coaches, players have talked about this new structure that surrounds Ten Hag, it needs to go to work quite quickly in the next few weeks," Neville continued.

"If the next international break comes around and Manchester United are still languishing in 13th or 14th position in the league, I think there's going to be a lot of pressure.

"The next few weeks are pivotal in ensuring they can somehow build some momentum for the rest of the season so that Ten Hag can retain his job.

"Because no United fan wants to see Ten Hag lose his job either, that would just feel like we're on a merry-go-round, just spinning the same way we have for the last decade or so."

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer were filmed arriving at Old Trafford on Monday afternoon for the first round of showdown talks.

Following various meetings at the club's stadium in Manchester, a long-standing meeting involving several club executives will take place in London on Tuesday.

Ten Hag's future is bound to be on the agenda as United decide whether to afford the Dutchman more time to reverse the club's fortunes on the pitch.