Former Manchester United flop Eric Djemba Djemba has warned his old club that Erik ten Hag is the wrong man to succeed Ralf Rangnick - and has instead urged United to appoint an "English manager".
Rangnick was handed the reigns on an interim basis back in November to allow the club to conduct a meticulous recruitment process, and Ten Hag has now emerged as the overwhelming favourite for the role after his sterling work at Ajax. The 52-year-old has guided the Dutch giants to five trophies during his four-years at the helm in Amsterdam, with the club currently on course to land their third Eredivisie title under Ten Hag's guidance.
But Djemba-Djemba - who spent two years on United's books between 2005 and 2007 - doesn't believe that Ten Hag is the right man to turn things around at Manchester United.. He told Sky Sports: "They need to have a good manager, a manager who knows English football, a a manager who knows English players. That is very important. I can't mention any managers because I'm not on the board, I don't know what the board want to do. For me though, they need to have an English manager or a British manager."
Despite Djemba-Djemba's verdict, it's unlikely that the United hierarchy will change their mind over Ten Hag. The Ajax chief has beaten off stiff competition from the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique in the race for the top job at Old Trafford.
And while nothing has been formally announced, it's anticipated that things will progress quickly once the domestic season in Holland has concluded. Ten Hag and Ajax came up short in their pursuit of the Dutch Cup final last weekend, when they were edged out 2-1 by PSV Eindhoven.
Ajax do still hold a slender four-point lead over PSV in the league, as the two sides battle it out for the Eredivisie title with just a handful of games remaining. But Gary Neville expects United to push through with the appointment after United were embarrassed by Liverpool on Thursday night - regardless of Ajax and their pursuit of the Dutch title.
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United put in a limp display at Anfield, where they were drubbed 4-0 by their old rivals. Mohamed Salah bagged a brace to end his recent mini-drought, while Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane were also on target to condemn United to another heavy defeat - just months after they were thumped 5-0 at Old Trafford by Jurgen Klopp's rampant Reds.
And Neville is adamant that the United hierarchy will seek to accelerate Ten Hag's announcement in a "political" move to try and take the focus away from their latest chastening league defeat.
Neville told Sky Sports: "The quickness that Manchester United want to get Ten Hag out there as soon as possible is to take the pressure and the eye of everything that is currently going on at the football club. It is an old political tactic. They can’t wait to appoint him because it instantly shifts the focus to next season."
