Ally McCoist says it would be madness for Manchester United to sack Erik ten Hag

Manchester United’s woeful start to the latest campaign under Erik ten Hag has left him fighting for his place in the Old Trafford dugout.

The 54-year-old has overseen a handful of appalling displays which has left United behind the chasing pack in the Premier League once more.

Even at this early stage, and despite INEOS finally throwing their backing behind the Dutchman in the summer, Ten Hag is under huge pressure after the shoddy early outings.

However, ex-player turned pundit Ally McCoist believes United would be wrong to make a change at the helm and has urged INEOS to stick with the Dutchman.

Speaking to talkSPORT BET and reported by the Mirror, McCoist says it would be “madness” to sack Ten Hag after giving him a new contract in the summer, claiming that pulling the trigger “wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever”.

When pushed on how long INEOS should give Ten Hag, the Scot feels that unless United dip massively in the coming weeks, Christmas would be an appropriate time to review the situation.

“It’s difficult to say how long United should give Ten Hag, because they’ve only just extended his contract. It would make sense for them to stick with him no matter what happens in the foreseeable future.

“Unless there’s a rapid and unbelievable decline in results and standards, I think Ten Hag will be in charge at least until Christmas,” he said.

Despite backing the boss, McCoist admitted that United have been well below par this season and says the only hope of winning silverware lies in the cup competitions.

“Manchester United have been one of the most disappointing sides in the Premier League this season. After just five games we’ve seen for definite that they’ve got no chance of winning the league.

“Their best hope of winning something this season is in one of the cups, that’s where they are at the moment,” he added.

Cup competitions is where Ten Hag has thrived since his arrival in Manchester, winning back-to-back trophies in his two years at the club but unless United turn things around quickly, he won’t have the chance to reach another final.

With away trips to Porto and Aston Villa to navigate before the week’s out, we may be looking at the beginning of the end of the Ten Hag era at the Theatre of Dreams.

Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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