Erik Ten Hag “Won’t Make Christmas”, Claims Former Premier League Star
Manchester United’s start to the season has been nothing short of disastrous and it had left head coach Erik Ten Hag hanging onto his job by a thread. With just two wins in their last nine games across all competitions and winless in their last six, many anticipated the Dutchman would be replaced during the international break, but that hasn’t been the case.
Former Liverpool and Arsenal star Jermaine Pennant also expected such fate, as revealed exclusively to EPL Index. However, the former Premier League midfielder was keen to remind that Ten Hag isn’t the only problem at Manchester United currently…
Ten Hag’s Future
When asked what the future holds for Ten Hag and Man United, Pennant answered bluntly: “Listen, I don’t think he is going to be there by the time of the international break next month.” The Red Devils have a fairly reasonable run of games coming up against the likes of Brentford, West Ham United and Leicester City twice so a run of negative results from those games would really push him towards tipping point.
“He 100% won’t make it to Christmas and they need a change,” insisted Pennant. It’s hard to disagree with Pennant’s view on the matter, with many seeing Ten Hag as fortunate to still be in the dugout at the start of the season to begin with. New England head coach Thomas Tuchel was heavily linked with a switch to Old Trafford but that is now obviously off the table. Other names like Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and former Chelsea boss Graham Potter have also been linked.
Other Changes Needed
As briefly mentioned above, Pennant was also keen to serve a reminder that Man United’s issues run much deeper than just Ten Hag. “Even if a new manager comes in, they might get a bit of a bounce but there’s a lot of work that needs to go on,” claimed Pennant, “There’s a lot of players that need to go out and plenty that need to come in.” This point comes after a long list of high-profile transfer failures with the likes of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Antony and more all struggling to adapt at Old Trafford.
“At the minute, the squad is just nowhere near good enough for Manchester United,” stated Pennant. Even the likes of Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, who have been trustworthy members of the squad in the past, are really struggling under Ten Hag.
United’s Slow Start
Manchester United’s woeful start to the season has left them sitting 14th in the Premier League, with just two wins in their opening seven games. One of the major concerns has been their goalscoring form, with just five league goals to their name and three of those came in the victory over newly-promoted Southampton. Pennant was eager to point out this negative, saying: “There’s only three teams in the top five leagues that have scored less than Manchester United and that’s FC St.Pauli in Germany, Lecce in Italy and Southampton, so things have got to change!”
As a former Liverpool and Arsenal star, Pennant rounded his thoughts off with a cheeky comment regarding the misfortunes of the Red Devils, saying: “Long may it continue though, I’m enjoying it!”
