England legend Paul Gascoigne believes that some Manchester United players are ‘taking the p***’ out of manager Erik ten Hag. And Gascoigne is desperate to see what the Red Devils’ legendary former boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, could do with the same group of stars at 82 years old.
United finished a dismal eighth last season but Ten Hag was given another shot after winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City. Despite being strengthened by new signings and players returning from injury, United are struggling again this term, sitting 14th in the table with two wins from seven games.
“To follow Alex Ferguson, a few of them, even Jose Mourinho didn’t last long, David Moyes not for long,” Gascoigne told Sports Casting. “I’d love [Sir Alex] Ferguson to take over for one season and just see what he could do with those players because I think some of them take the p*** out of [Ten Hag].
“You’ve got to give the man a bit of respect and it’s such a massive club, I don’t think some of the players realise who they’re playing for.”
United’s standards have slipped since Sir Alex stepped down from the top job in 2013, and they have failed to win a Premier League title since. Ten Hag is now into his third campaign at the helm and the pressure is on to produce results.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and other senior figures at United met in London last week for a crunch meeting to discuss the club’s current form. Thomas Tuchel has been touted as a managerial candidate but the two-week international break is steadily coming to a close and Ten Hag remains in position.
One player Ten Hag could count on in his first season, but has fallen flat since, is Marcus Rashford. The 26-year-old has only found the net once in the Premier League this term, and Gascoigne believes the signs are worrying.
“I love Rashford, I think he’s an unbelievable player but he just doesn’t seem to care,” he said. “Even when he scores, he doesn’t seem happy about it so there’s something going on there. If that’s the case just move on. You get a couple of players that move on and then they find something different.
“He doesn’t seem happy playing in England anyway. And some good clubs will come in for him. Go to Italy, that’ll shake him up. It shook me up a bit.”
