Manchester United should sack Erik ten Hag and take charge of Steve McLaren for the rest of the season, according to the club’s former players Paul Scholes and Michael Owen.
The two spoke on Monday evening after Manchester United’s dismal 4-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.
Ten Hag’s future is in serious doubt after a poor season that has left the Red Devils in eighth place and facing a difficult FA Cup final in which they will be significant underdogs against local rivals Manchester City.
Scholes said the defeat felt like the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for Ten Hag and that the Dutchman is on ‘borrowed time’ at Old Trafford.
He told Premier League Productions: ‘Tonight almost felt like the final nail in the coffin. There was a lack of know-how in the team, a lack of effort, to go to a team like Crystal Palace, which to be honest is a good team and is doing well, but Manchester United should not go there and with Losing 4-0. .
Paul Scholes and Michael Owen believe Erik ten Hag (left) should be fired and replaced by Steve McLaren (right) until the end of the season
It comes after United’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, which leaves them eighth in the table
McLaren is famously remembered for being under his umbrella when his England side lost to Croatia at Wembley in 2007 and failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships.
Both Owen and Scholes said McLaren is the best coach they have ever worked with as players and feel he does not ‘touch’ the current United team despite being an assistant to Ten Hag.
‘I had the feeling for a while that he (Ten Hag) might get another year and work for a club that has calmed down a bit due to the new owners, but it doesn’t feel that way now.
‘I thought: who is there to replace him? Now that Thomas Tuchel says he is leaving Bayern Munich, I don’t think this will cause a bigger problem for him (Ten Hag), as the problems are already there. I think it’s pretty clear to see that he’s on borrowed time.
‘Sometimes you have those moments when you think this is the end. I remember Ole Gunnar (Solskjaer) at Watford, 4-1, it felt very similar to me, it felt like the end.’
In addition to the cup final with Manchester City, United play at home against Arsenal and Newcastle before concluding the Premier League season in Brighton.
Scholes admitted he could not see where United would get a win in their last three league matches.
Owen then asked what United should do, agreeing with Scholes’ response that former England manager and current assistant at Old Trafford, McLaren, should take on the role of caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Scholes previously worked with McLaren at Manchester United when he was assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, while Owen played under him for the Three Lions.
McLaren is perhaps best remembered for his time as England manager, and the photo of him standing under an umbrella as he watched his side lose to Croatia at Wembley, which meant the Three Lions failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and led to that he was fired. .
Owen and Scholes fear United will miss out on Europe and be humiliated by Manchester City if they do not urgently press charges
Scholes said the loss to Palace felt like the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for Ten Hag as United boss
However, Owen and Scholes believe McLaren is not to blame for United’s problems this season and feel he has been left out by Ten Hag.
Owen said: ‘There’s no way his fingerprints are anywhere near that team. He is a brilliant coach and that team is not coached at all.’
Scholes added: “He’s not touching that team. The manager shouldn’t let him touch that team because everyone thinks we were a great team that attacked everyone (Manchester United), but Steve McLaren set up sessions to make sure we stopped other teams and got the distances and angles right. ‘
Both players went on to say that McLaren is the best coach they have worked under during their respective playing careers.
Owen added: “There’s no way he has anything to do with coaching that team, that’s impossible because that team has absolutely no idea about it.
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“There’s not one thing that I think works in that team. Steve McLaren is a top operator and I can only think that other people are coaching the team and he is a bystander.
‘They will be pushed out of the margins by every team they have yet to play against if they play like that today. Manchester City are going to demoralize them at Wembley in front of millions of people, that’s shameful.
‘Something has to change. I think it needs to change now that there are too many big games. This could decide European football next season, this is a trophy.”
Scholes went on to hit on Ten Hag by suggesting the club doesn’t have many ‘bad players’ and that the fault lies with the manager.
He said: ‘There aren’t that many bad players at United, are there? It seems like they are not being coached, while it seems like it is the manager’s fault. It seems the fight has gone out of them.”
United currently have just one win in seven Premier League games, including against relegated Sheffield United.
Their recent poor form means they could miss out on Europe unless they jump back into the top seven or upset Manchester City in the FA Cup final.