Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand insists Erik ten Hag’s tactics are exposing the weaknesses in his Red Devils side, according to reports.
Ten Hag’s side have had a poor start to the new Premier League season with Man Utd currently sitting 12th in the Premier League table.
The Dutchman came under pressure before the last international break following a 3-0 loss to arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Man Utd beat Southampton and League One Barnsley to take some of the heat off Ten Hag before draws against Crystal Palace, FC Twente and a 3-0 loss to Tottenham at the weekend put him back under intense pressure.
There are reports that claim negative results against Porto on Thursday night and Aston Villa at the weekend could spell the end for Ten Hag at Man Utd.
And Ferdinand thinks the Man Utd boss is creating some of his own problems with his kamikaze approach against Tottenham, exposing Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt’s lack of pace.
Ferdinand said on his own YouTube channel: “Man United, for far too long, have been playing transition football.
“The goal [which gave Tottenham the lead through Brennan Johnson] is in transition.
“As a defender, we were always thinking; ‘What’s the worst case scenario when we have the ball’. When I was trying to be my most switched on in the entire game was when we had possession, just in case we lose the ball.
“Now, the game has changed a bit. More managers are more expansive. But Man United’s midfielders especially haven’t got the legs. And our two centre-halves, [there is] no pace in there at all.
“I think you have to be more diligent when we lose the ball, so the FC Twente situation and the Van de Ven situation doesn’t happen when you can run through the pitch over a big distance.”
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Journalist Andy Mitten insists there “were clear issues between players and manager about his style” after the FA Cup final win over Man City earlier this year.
Mitten told The Athletic’s Talk of the Devils podcast: “An hour after the FA Cup final win, I spoke to half a dozen of United players outside the dressing room and asked them about the manager.
“The words weren’t being recorded.
“Not one said the manager should absolutely be sacked. And not one said he should absolutely stay. Yet, there were clear issues between players and manager about his style.
“One of them said; ‘You cannot have teams in the relegation zone like Sheffield United and Burnley coming to Old Trafford and carving us open’.”
