Carragher warns Man Utd ‘favourite’ to replace Ten Hag will be ‘tough sell’ to fans

Jamie Carragher reckons the appointment of former England boss Gareth Southgate at Man Utd would be a “tough sell” to Red Devils fans.

The Red Devils have won two, drawn one and lost three of their first six Premier League matches with their 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend turning the heat up on Erik ten Hag.

Man Utd threw away a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw against Porto on Thursday night with a late Harry Maguire header giving the Red Devils a point.

That did Ten Hag no favours, with their Premier League clash against Aston Villa now expected to be key as the Man Utd board decide his future.

There have been a number of potential successors discussed with former England boss Southgate linked over the summer before INEOS decided to keep Ten Hag and extend his contract.

And former Liverpool defender Carragher reckons it would be hard for INEOS to convince the Man Utd supporters that Southgate after making a “mistake” in the summer.

“With an international break looming, it is inconceivable there are no emergency board meetings taking place at Old Trafford,” Carragher wrote in the Daily Telegraph .

“Some of the names being linked like Gareth Southgate will be a tough sell to the supporters, but whatever change is made will be an admission that not acting before pre-season was a mistake.

“United will pay a heavy price for their indecision should they miss out on the Champions League for another year.

“Nobody wishes to see a manager continue to suffer, but it is starting to feel like Ten Hag has missed his last chance of salvaging his reputation at Old Trafford.

“Now the question is how long Ratcliffe and INEOS are prepared to tolerate the current situation to ensure their own does not suffer further damage.”

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The I newspaper claimed today that Southgate ‘remains a favourite option among the Ineos leadership group’ with Sir Jim Ratcliffe understood to have ‘preferred Southgate and Graham Potter for the job’ over Thomas Tuchel, who they are ‘expected to resume talks with’ if Ten Hag is sacked.

One of the big talking points after the match against Porto was Ten Hag’s choice to remove Marcus Rashford at half-time when the Man Utd forward had contributed a goal and an assist in the first half.

Ten Hag claimed the decision after the match was purely based on the need for rotating his players but former Premier League goalkeeper Shaka Hislop disagreed.

A “gobsmacked” Hislop said on ESPN: “You do that with a player who’s been flying all season long and your entire season is hinging on him.

“But when its a player that’s struggling and all of a sudden has re-found his form, leave him alone, let him play, let him fill his boots.

“To take him off at half-time, honestly I am gobsmacked to hear it was rotational.”

Hislop added: “Let me also say people try to defend Erik ten Hag, and say Pep Guardiola couldn’t get a tune out of this Manchester United. Pep Guardiola would not take Marcus Rashford off after just 45 minutes when he is in this type of form

“Erik ten Hag just blew up his only line of defence, in a stubborn decision.”

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