Man Utd sent ominous Erik ten Hag message due to Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville

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Manchester United heroes Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville have a tendency to put pressure on the club’s managers, according to former Premier League star Ruud Gullit. And that could go against Erik ten Hag, who is set to take charge at Old Trafford at the end of the season.

United have suffered a miserable campaign and look set to miss out on a top-four finish following their defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday. Ralf Rangnick was appointed interim manager in November after the club had sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the wake of a torrid run of form.

But Rangnick has fared little better than the Norwegian as United went crashing out of the FA Cup in the fourth round and the Champions League in the round of 16. Ten Hag certainly has a big job on his hands if he is to get United playing the sort of football which saw them dominate English football for two decades.

But Gullit thinks he won’t be helped by United’s former stars. “I follow the media in England and I have already concluded that Ten Hag will not get the time to change things,” the ex-Chelsea player-coach and Newcastle manager told The Mirror.

“Rio Ferdinand has put the pressure on, Gary Neville has done it – all the papers will be onto him. I have lived and worked in England. The first club all the media look at and talk about is United. What United have done wrong is that when Man City and Liverpool made a change in their playing styles to a very attacking way – playing 4-3-3 – pressing the opponent and using an aggressive style, United went the other way.

“They went for older managers like David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. That did not work. Now United have realised that they must go for a young, modern manager too. But it’s too late. In the end, they have now ended up with Ten Hag. As much as I wish he will succeed at United, my fear is that this is going to be a really, really difficult project for him.”

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United won the Premier League a record 13 times under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. But they have looked a shadow of the team they once were since the Scot retired in 2013.

And Ten Hag will want reassurances he will be given the time to make the changes needed to ensure the club can once again become a force in English and European football.

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