Rio Ferdinand delivers Erik ten Hag sack verdict as Man Utd legend makes ‘identity’ claim

Club legend Rio Ferdinand has encouraged Manchester United to stick with head coach Erik ten Hag until the end of the season.

The Red Devils looked like they may have turned a corner when they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford last Wednesday but they arguably suffered their worst defeat of the season on Saturday as they lost 3-0 at home against Bournemouth.

Next up for Man Utd is their Champions League group stage finale against Bayern Munich. The Premier League giants need a win to give themselves any hope of qualifying for the knockout stages.

It does not get any easier for Man Utd after this European tie as they travel to face Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League this weekend.

Ten Hag is the second favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked and Ferdinand has acknowledged that he “can’t see” the Dutchman’s “style of football” at the moment.

“I’m with Gary Neville on this in terms of, are you just going to keep changing managers when the players are going out there and aren’t performing?” Ferdinand said on talkSPORT.

“But with Ten Hag, I want to see a style of football. I can’t see a style of football and an identity and a philosophy when you look at so many teams around the league [and see that], whether they’re near the top or the bottom.

“You always know a Sean Dyche team when you see it. When he puts his team out you know he must be on the training ground working on his team.

“I spoke to Ten Hag before the Galatasaray game and I said ‘Why have we not seen a consistent performance from your team yet?’ and he said ‘Well I’ve had a lot of injuries’ but I still think those other players that are coming in are on the training ground as well, they’re watching these training sessions and taking part.”

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Ferdinand is unsure whether Ten Hag will be able to take Man Utd back to the top but he would give the Dutchman “until the end of the season” to turn things around.

“At this moment in time, I don’t know,” Ferdinand added.

“I’d give him until the end of the season at least, but within that a new structure behind the scenes is imminent.

“I think that can have a real say on his fortunes or those of whoever would replace him, because I don’t think any manager could come in here and change things, it’s been proven.

“There’s been five or so managers who have come in here all with different experiences and they’ve all failed, so it can’t just be the manager all of the time, the players stay the same, the recruitment stays the same, the ownership stays the same.”