Erik ten Hag could lose his job as his position would become untenable if Manchester United lose to Southampton this weekend, reckons Louis Saha.
It has been a difficult start to the season for the Red Devils boss, picking up a narrow win over Fulham on the opening day before defeats to Brighton and Liverpool, the latter a heavy loss at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag takes his team to St Mary’s for the 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday and a third straight league defeat could spell the end for him as United boss.
Saha, who scored 42 goals in 142 appearances for Manchester United from 2004-08, feels another tame defeat to the Saints would leave the Dutchman in an untenable position.
‘I think so. Against Liverpool, the issue was the performance rather than just the result, so Erik’s under pressure because the team isn’t playing well,’ Saha told Betfred.
‘There were no signs during the game that things were going to be fixed. On Saturday, if Southampton are able to dominate against Manchester United in the same way that Liverpool dominated last week, then the situation would be untenable for Erik ten Hag.’
The Frenchman has doubts over Ten Hag’s tactical prowess, saying it is hard to see a clear game plan from Manchester United under his management.
‘You need to find different ways to beat the best sides and that’s something that every manager needs to do, but at the same time your philosophy really has to always be in line with a foundation that the players can really understand, know what the manager is asking of them and know what the needs are during the game,’ he said.
‘There’s a lot of people in punditry and the media, as well as the fans, who are seeing things that they can’t understand when they watch Manchester United at the moment.
‘We saw Arne Slot and Liverpool destroy the tactics of Erik ten Hag in their last game. At this moment, it’s not about personalities, it’s about seeing a plan that the players can identify with and cause damage with.
‘Sometimes we see players play as individuals or not being able to respond correctly but at the moment, the problem is the game plan. Currently, we can’t identify a clear game plan and that’s why Erik’s being criticised. Things need to improve.’
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