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Erik ten Hag’s second season in charge of Manchester United has been a testing one, with on-and-off the field issues disturbing the Dutchman’s progress.
After a successful first campaign which included ending the club’s six year trophy drought and a third place finish in the Premier League, much was expected from the team this year.
However, United have failed to find any kind of consistency so far but despite having to deal with a raft of injuries and absences, are still in and around the coveted Champions League places in the Premier League.
Underwhelming performances have meant Ten Hag has found himself under pressure in recent weeks and Stan Collymore is the latest pundit to question the manager’s suitability for the role.
In his column for Caught Offside, Collymore says Ten Hag’s record at United is “poor” and doesn’t believe he is capable of restoring the club to its former glories.
“Do I think he’s the long term man for the club? I don’t. You’ve got to have the character or the personality of a Pep or a Klopp to be able to really assert influence over the club, something Ten Hag has struggled to do,” he says.
Collymore blasted United’s transfer policy under Ten Hag, labelling it as “panic buying” and says that responsibility falls on the manager’s shoulders.
“When you are a Manchester United manager and you run a football club that brings in Andre Onana, who is arguably worse than the outgoing goalkeeper, then that has to be on the manager. Rasmus Hojlund at £70m is another” he claims.
However, Collymore accepts that if the new recruits find their feet and form at Old Trafford, it will be the catalyst to Ten Hag becoming a success at the club and gaining the trust of the fans.
“The only way Ten Hag turns the corner is if he hangs his reputation on the next four or five signings doing the business for the club.
If he does that and they become a success, then he gets the kind of power and gravitas at the football club that fans would expect him to have, and everybody goes ‘he’s got this’.” he said.
United continue their tricky festive fixture list with a trip to in-form Newcastle tonight (Saturday) which, even at this stage of the season, looks like a crunch game in the race for the Premier League’s top four.
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