Man Utd: Neville identifies four questions Ratcliffe will want Ten Hag to answer to save his job
New Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be asking four questions ahead of making a decision over Erik ten Hag’s future, according to Gary Neville.
The Red Devils had a run of four consecutive wins in a row in February but Ten Hag’s side have resumed their inconsistent form with back-to-back losses against Fulham and arch-rivals Man City.
Man Utd lost 3-1 to Man City on Sunday, despite taking the lead via a Marcus Rashford wonder strike, and the Red Devils are now 11 points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa with 11 matches of the Premier League season remaining.
There has been speculation since the defeat to City that Ratcliffe – who completed a deal to buy 25 per cent of Man Utd – could look to appoint a new manager in the summer if things don’t vastly improve.
A number of pundits think Ratcliffe and INEOS have already made their mind up over Ten Hag’s future with Man Utd ready to move their manager on.
And former Man Utd defender Gary Neville suspects Ratcliffe is asking a number of questions before deciding whether to stick or twist on Ten Hag.
Neville said on Sky Sports: “I always go back to, are we on the right journey? Are we going in the right direction? Is there a style of play? And is there a performance level where you feel like something is building?
“Last season was really good in the sense of winning a trophy, getting into the Champions League, and reaching the FA Cup final. There were a lot of good things about setting the foundations for Erik ten Hag.
“I would have expected them this season not to win the league but not to be in sixth and so far off. That’s the problem.
“They have lost 11 games in the league and performances are inconsistent. It is that element of something which just happens in a second season and he needs a third to get it right, or actually is this what they are?
“That is the challenge INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have, thinking where are we in this journey, are we going in the right direction, is this what the future looks like?”
Roy Keane has accused Man Utd players of “having a breather” as Phil Foden scored the equalising goal in their defeat to Man City.
“United have a lot of players back here. I’ll be critical of the United defenders because they have the players back,” Keane told Sky Sports.
“But two or three players are just having a breather there.
“You’ve got Foden who we’ve seen do that many times this season cutting in and the players are just having a breather for that split second.
“You can’t do that against Foden! We’ve seen that before.
“When there’s a left-footer cutting in like this people say it’s dangerous but when you’ve got bodies in there this is where you’ve got to switch on.
“You’ve gotta get out to the ball! You’ve gotta get out to Foden! We’ve spoke about an amazing player. He wants to get onto his stronger foot. Get out to him!”
