Gary Neville says Erik ten Hag will be ‘shocked’ by the squad he inherited at Manchester United

Gary Neville has slammed Manchester United chiefs for not backing new manager Erik ten Hag as his side were beaten 2-0 at home in their first game of the new Premier League season.

The former Manchester United player, turned television pundit, refused to blame the new manager and his latest recruits, Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen, but instead pointed the finger at those in charge of transfer dealings at the club. 

On a day when club owner Avram Glazer was in attendance to watch the start of what he hopes is a new era of success under the Dutch boss, Neville showcased his disappointment in the state of the squad that Ten Hag has been handed at Old Trafford.  

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville refused to blame new signings Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez for their part in the opening day defeat

‘It’s too early to judge new signings. Coming into a very difficult game and a very difficult situation’ said Neville on Sky Sports.

‘I thought (Lisandro) Martinez to be fair did some really good things but could have done better with the goal. 

‘He should have seen the run-off and it’s his goal that one. That’s his run but the reality is it’s his first game at Old Trafford in a new team, a struggling team so there’s no reflection on him.

‘I don’t look at the manager or the new players here Eriksen or Martinez and think they are the problem at all. They are brand new to it. 

Neville criticised Manchester United club chiefs for giving Ten Hag an ‘unacceptable’ squad

However, former United captain Roy Keane blamed the players for not giving ‘100%’

‘The problem has got to be that the club haven’t handed the coach a better squad. It’s unacceptable at the start of the season. That could not happen and it has happened’ he added.

However Neville momentarily clashed with former United Captain Roy Keane when he claimed the players were giving 100% effort, something Keane didn’t agree with.

‘I think that the players they’ve got there every one of them that I watch is giving 100%. They need better players coming in alongside them. 

Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench, but Ten Hag praised his impact after his introduction

‘They are giving their all. 

Keane interrupted stating: ‘But we saw the stats last year Gary. They don’t run, they don’t sprint, to me that’s not giving 100%. 

‘The word coming home from the training ground for the last month or two is they’re not training properly, the discipline they are going to train on time that comes from the group, not the coaches, you know that better than anybody. 

‘They are not giving 100%. I think today was a bit of a lack of football intelligence. They are dead open and can’t seem to keep clean sheets.