Gary Neville explains why Ange Postecoglou’s men played a key role in getting Erik Ten Hag sacked from Manchester United.
Both Spurs and Man Utd struggling
Neither Spurs nor Man Utd have had the kind of starts they would have hoped for in the new 2024/25 Premier League season.
A quarter of the way into the campaign, the Lilywhites sit in eighth place with 13 points from nine matches, while United sit all the way back in 14th place.
The 2-1 loss to West Ham in the London Stadium proved to be the final nail in Ten Hag’s coffin, but Neville believes that the decision was coming since the loss to Tottenham.
Gary Neville says Spurs loss the catalyst for sacking
Neville admitted that he felt during United’s 3-0 loss to Spurs at Old Trafford a month ago that the writing was on the wall for the Dutchman.
He claimed that the United hierarchy would have begun their search for their new manager following that humiliation by Tottenham.
Speaking about Ten Hag’s sacking, the pundit told Sky Sports: “I thought it was coming. Looking at that Tottenham game a few weeks ago I felt I had seen this before. It was a bad day for Manchester United and a bad day for Erik ten Hag.
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“It’s got worse form then, yesterday (against West Ham) the missed chances were unacceptable, they should have been two up at halftime.
“Overall, the challenges of the results and performances have meant that the owners have decided to sack Erik ten Hag. I don’t think anybody will be truly shocked this morning.
“I suspect the Tottenham game was probably a catalyst for them to start thinking about a new manager. You look at who is available then you try to think of the timing. You are half hoping the manager can turn it around but 99 times out of 100, the tide is against you and continues to go against you.
“They’ve probably chosen a moment that was decided a few weeks ago – that the next bad loss or bad result, we’re probably going to have to act. That has come yesterday [vs West Ham]
“They would have started the process of finding Erik ten Hag’s successor, definitely, because that Tottenham game a few weeks ago did feel like the end.”
Not good news for Spurs
Ten Hag’s departure is not good news for Tottenham, considering that United are only two points behind the Lilywhites at the moment. Postecoglou will come under a lot of pressure unless he manages to turn things around quickly.
If the Red Devils do get a new manager bounce, they could well leapfrog Spurs very soon, given the difficult fixtures that the North London side have coming up.