When Manchester United were on the lookout for a new manager following the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Antonio Conte initially seemed the perfect choice.
Having enjoyed success in Italy and England, Conte was out of work after leaving Inter Milan and was keen to return to the Premier League. His arrival would have been in a similar vein to Jose Mourinho as a serial trophy winner coming to Old Trafford. But Gary Neville was not convinced, believing Conte would be a poor fit for United.
As Neville explained on Sky Sports just before Solskjaer was sacked: "They won’t bring a hitman in. They will stick with Ole and he has to win something this season.
"Any other club he’d [Solskjaer] be in trouble tonight. Jose was the best manager in the world and couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t bring Conte in to United. He’s not a fit for United. I might be wrong but I don't think that he is. I think it would be wrong to sack Ole today. I sacked a manager after six games last season, it was the wrong thing to do, I should’ve let things breathe."
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In May last year, Neville doubled down on his opinion of Conte despite him steering Tottenham to Champions League football.
He added: "It is possible to think that he's a great coach, but he doesn't suit your club and that's it. For me, he does two years at clubs and I don't think he's right for Manchester United. But for other clubs, fine. To be fair, he's done a good job.
"Arsenal have blown it at the end and Manchester United have capitulated, which has helped. I have no doubt he's a great manager, but he just doesn't suit the club I support."
While this was met with criticism at the time, Neville has perhaps been proven right given Conte's weekend outburst after the draw with Southampton On Saturday, Conte took aim at his Tottenham players in dramatic fashion. His press conference questioned the whole club's desire to win and highlighted the concerns Neville held about longevity.
Ten Hag meanwhile has shown himself to be up for the rebuild. It would have been easy for him to potentially panic following the early season defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford but the Dutchman has stuck to his guns. Delivering a trophy in his first campaign is beyond impressive considering where United were and his achievements have now dwarfed Conte's efforts with Spurs in 2021/22.
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