Man Utd told when Ten Hag’s position ‘would be untenable’ after Slot ‘destroyed’ his tactics

Erik ten Hag’s situation at Man Utd would become “untenable” if Southampton managed to “dominate” them in their next fixture, according to Louis Saha.

The Red Devils have started the season poorly once again with an opening weekend victory over Fulham followed by back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Liverpool.

It was the 3-0 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool before the international break which really had some Man Utd fans and former players questioning whether Ten Hag is up to the job after narrowly avoiding the sack over the summer.

A brace from Luis Diaz and a second-half strike from Mohamed Salah gave Arne Slot’s side all three points at Old Trafford with Man Utd second best for most of the fixture.

And former Man Utd striker Saha insists that another similar performance against Southampton after the international break would see Ten Hag’s position become “untenable”.

On whether Ten Hag’s position could become untenable if they lose to Southampton, Saha told Betfred : “I think so. Against Liverpool, the issue was the performance rather than just the result, so Erik’s under pressure because the team isn’t playing well. There were no signs during the game that things were going to be fixed.

“On Saturday, if Southampton are able to dominate against Manchester United in the same way that Liverpool dominated last week, then the situation would be untenable for Erik ten Hag.”

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When asked whether Ten Hag has proven that he is tactically versatile enough at Man Utd, Saha added: “You need to find different ways to beat the best sides and that’s something that every manager needs to do, but at the same time your philosophy really has to always be in line with a foundation that the players can really understand, know what the manager is asking of them and know what the needs are during the game.

“There’s a lot of people in punditry and the media, as well as the fans, who are seeing things that they can’t understand when they watch Manchester United at the moment. We saw Arne Slot and Liverpool destroy the tactics of Erik ten Hag in their last game.

“At this moment, it’s not about personalities, it’s about seeing a plan that the players can identify with and cause damage with. Sometimes we see players play as individuals or not being able to respond correctly but at the moment, the problem is the game plan. Currently, we can’t identify a clear game plan and that’s why Erik’s being criticised. Things need to improve.”

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