Erik ten Hag will be ‘overachieving’ if he wins a trophy in his first two years at Old Trafford, according to Manchester United legend Gary Neville.
The Dutchman, who will remain in charge of Ajax until the end of the season, was announced as the the club’s next permanent manager on Thursday.
But Neville, who described Man Utd’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool as the worst he has seen the team in his 42 years of watching, feels it will take Ten Hag a significant amount of time before he can add to their trophy cabinet.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “What we’re seeing at this current moment is unacceptable. That needs to be dealt with initially and Ten Hag has got a big job to get the club back up to those minimum standards that they need to achieve, which is attitude, work ethic, belief, confidence and then hopefully you start to think about winning trophies.
“But honestly, I wouldn’t be putting too much pressure on Ten Hag in the first one or two years to win a trophy at the club. It would be great if he did and he’d be overachieving, in my opinion.
“It will be: get into the top four, re-establish Man Utd in the Champions League, attract the players into the club who can play in the way he wants to play, and then get a system of belief.
“It took Jurgen Klopp four or five years to win a Premier League title, as great a job as he’s done. I wouldn’t be putting pressure on Ten Hag in the first two or three years to win a Premier League title. They’re a million miles away from that currently.”
Manchester United have suffered another trophyless season, making it five years since they last claimed silverware of any kind.
They are also set to miss out on Champions League qualification for next season. With just five Premier League games remaining, Ralf Rangnick’s men sit three points adrift of the top four, with rivals Tottenham and Arsenal also holding games in hand.
