Cole tells Man Utd, Ten Hag that Saints clash is a ‘must-win game’ as Crouch picks out ‘worry’

Joe Cole and Peter Crouch agree Man Utd should see their match against Southampton is a “must-win game” after their poor start to the season.

When asked if it’s ridiculous to say it’s a must-win game for Man Utd, Cole replied on TNT Sports : “I think it is a must-win game for them today. And I just think with the context of where Erik ten Hag was, I think in the boardroom in the summer it was a real tricky one for them to know which way to go because he’d won two trophies in previous years, the team had got into a good position and then dropped off a little bit.

“There’s lots of change and I think there will have been a real split whether to keep him. They’ve gone with him. He really needed a big start and that’s not happened. Losing the Liverpool game was telling, so I think today is not the game you want because they are expected to come and win here because Saints have not started well.

“But if something happens at this ground and there’s an early goal then it’s going to be tough for Man Utd .”

Former Tottenham and England star Crouch said: “I think the pressure comes when you look round the team and he’s really put his stamp on it now. If you look round and the signings that they’ve made, there are players, there’s no denying that. He’s worked with them before, he’s quite obviously had a big hand in the signings and he’s built this team.

“And if it doesn’t succeed then, unfortunately, it has to land with the manager.”

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On whether it was the right decision to keep Ten Hag, Crouch added: “Time will tell. It’s not got off to a great start, let’s be honest, and with the signings that have been made – as I’ve said before – it’s his team now. So the buck stops with the manager. They have to turn this round, they have to start winning games.

“My worry is that they are in a bracket now with Newcastle, Aston Villa, teams like that. They have to finish above them. I don’t put them in the bracket of Arsenal and Manchester City at the moment, they aren’t there yet.

When asked how far off they are from the top ‘bracket’, Crouch continued: “Quite far. Being totally honest I think they are miles behind those two teams. I think they are going to have a struggle to finish ahead of Newcastle and Aston Villa. I think that is something that has to be said and you look at.

“I heard someone saying recently ‘you are signing players to finish in the top four’. This is Manchester United we are talking about, this is a club that should be winning league titles. They should at least be challenging every single season and I think if you finish outside the top four it’s disastrous. And that’s happened and it can’t happen again.”