Gary Neville says Erik ten Hag has a ‘real problem’ at Manchester United and it’s growing by the week

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Gary Neville has suggested Erik ten Hag has a real ‘problem’ on his hands at Manchester United right now.

The Dutchman looked one as his side were beaten by Fulham at the weekend in what look a return to the dismal performances of earlier on in the season.

Ten Hag has seen his United littered with inconsistency ever since he arrived from Ajax and it doesn’t look to have got any better this season either.

And speaking tonight on Monday Night Football for Sky Sports, former United defender Neville suggested Ten Hag has a big problem in terms of playing style.

“At the moment that is not being demonstrated because it’s been going on for many, many months. We said when the players came back maybe we would see that but I think even that is maybe a little bit of an excuse because when we see other clubs have four or five players missing they still have that same style of play and patterns with the players that came off the bench or are in the reserves. I think there is an issue which is growing larger and larger by the week. Ten Hag has proven that he can play great football when he managed at Ajax but he’s having a real problem in instilling a style at Man United which any of us can read. They are not a pressing team, a direct team or a possession team. They are a bit of everything,” Neville said.

Neville spot on about Manchester United tactics

This has been a recurring theme all season. Manchester United are one of the few teams pushing for Europe where it’s almost impossible to describe how they play.

We see Liverpool press and suffocate teams, while Man City starve opposition of the ball and break teams down over time. Even the likes of Aston Villa now have a way, while Tottenham and Arsenal are both firmly playing to their manager’s needs and wants.

For United, as Neville says, Ten Hag’s needs are not clear and it’s causing issues in performances.

It needs sorting an quickly, otherwise Ten Hag could find himself out the door once Jim Ratcliffe gets his feet under the table.