Former Manchester United star Nicky Butt has called on the club to back Erik ten Hag, despite their disappointing start to the season
Manchester United have significantly bolstered their squad during the recently concluded transfer window. They have spent a fortune to add more quality to their backline and have also brought in a new defensive midfielder. Despite all that, Erik ten Hag’s team have had a poor start to the new season.
They have lost two out of their opening three league games. Their first defeat came at the hands of Brighton away from home and they ended up suffering a humiliating 3-0 loss at the hands of rivals Liverpool on their own home turf last time out. The poor results have resulted in a lot of talk about his future.
But, Nicky Butt feels United should still stick with Erik ten Hag. The former Manchester United midfielder believes it won’t make sense for the Red Devils to sack the Dutch manager when they do not have a replacement lined up. He feels they should back him for a touch longer as it is just the start and we are only a few games into the new season.
Nicky Butt’s take on Erik ten Hag’s future
While speaking on Manchester Evening News, Butt said via the Mirror: “There’s no point sacking somebody if there’s nobody to come in. Clubs all over the world do it, I think it’s crazy.
“They sack a manager because it’s not going well and they don’t have any reasonable targets coming in, then they bring another wrong one in and it’s a knock-on effect.
“For me, I’d give him time to get it right. It’s just the start of the season, we’ve only played three or four games and you’ve got to stand by him. If they don’t do that, they just should have let go of him in the post-season.”
Ten Hag’s future was uncertain following the end of the 2023/24 season. While he guided them to FA Cup success, they could only manage an 8th-place finish last season. As a result, they held meetings to decide on his future.
Eventually, the club chiefs decided to back the former Ajax boss and they forked out a fortune in the summer to give him the players he needs to implement his system better. While it is not an ideal start for them, Ten Hag should be given time to turn things around according to Butt.
New minority owners could bring back the glory days
The former United midfielder even talked about how new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made major changes at the club. He has brought in experts in key positions to turn things around at Old Trafford and eventually, they could return to be one of the biggest clubs in England as well as Europe.
For now, Butt is against sacking Ten Hag, as they do not have a replacement lined up. Moreover, they handed him a new deal in the summer so the Red Devils should back him for a touch longer.
