Manchester United told to sack Erik ten Hag for Ruud van Nistelrooy after impressive touchline acts spotted

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Manchester United need to make a change and part ways with Erik ten Hag following their dreary defeat to Tottenham.

That’s the view of talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor, who believes one of their club legends should be next to take the Old Trafford hotseat.

United were convincingly beaten 3-0 at home by Spurs on Sunday, with captain Bruno Fernandes shown a straight red card just before half-time.

Although they have lost three of their opening six league matches, talkSPORT understands Ten Hag is set to stay as manager for at least the next two games.

However, United’s poor start to the season has led to former Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor believing the Dutchman’s time may be up.

“The board should be definitely thinking of a change,” he told Natalie Sawyer on talkSPORT Breakfast. “I mean, I did a press conference for the Young Boys game [vs Aston Villa] with Unai Emery.

“I would have loved to have done one last night and ask him [Ten Hag] questions about, ‘All your players are fit now, what are you talking about injuries? You’ve got Luke Shaw unavailable…’ That was a strong Manchester United team, even before the game started.

“[Manuel] Ugarte, [Kobbie] Mainoo, Fernandes, that’s his best midfield he can play. [Marcus] Rashford, [Alejandro] Garnacho, [Joshua] Zirkzee… You know you spent £660million and you’re still, after the game, saying, ‘You know, they’ve got my back.’

“They could lose, Natalie, 5-0 three weeks in a row, he’d say, ‘You know, it’s a process, the players will come in, it’s a new day, tomorrow’s a new day, we go and start from the bottom.’ He’s just got an excuse for every single bad result…

“You’ve lost twice at home in six games 3-0, to Liverpool, to Spurs, you know, you’re on minus three goal difference already, the gap between the top four is already, you know, big enough. I just think that, for the sake of their season, Manchester United should make a change.

“It didn’t work, they tried to bring in a new manager, you looked at every manager possible in the summer. Then said, ‘Alright, we’ll keep you,’ it’s not going to work, the players aren’t even playing for him Natalie.”

When asked who he’d appoint as Ten Hag’s replacement, Agbonlahor named one United’s assistant managers when he said: “I would give it to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

“The reason why is that when you watch Manchester United, and even after the games and during games, you just see Manchester United players feeding off Van Nistelrooy a bit more than they are off Ten Hag.

“I remember seeing a clip after a game and Ten Hag walks straight in, and you’ve got Van Nistelrooy high-fiving the players, hugging the players.

“I just think that he was a manager as well two years ago at PSV [Eindhoven], he’s not going to have thought to himself, ‘I want to be an assistant.’ Maybe that’s the best offer he’s had, I just think… It might be the same situation as [Michael] Carrick and [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer…”

Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals in 219 appearances for United, has previously been assistant manager with the Netherlands.

The Premier League champion also worked with the PSV U18s squad before becoming the senior side’s head coach, winning the Johan Cruyff Shield and KNVB Cup before resigning in 2022.

It was announced in July that Van Nistelrooy would return to United as an assistant to Ten Hag, who signed a one-year extension at the club to keep him until 2026 just days prior.

He faced pressure at the end of last season after finishing eighth, their worst ever Premier League final standing, before winning the FA Cup, although United still eyed possible replacements in the summer.

“But if it’s that bad, then you have to make a change,” Agbonlahor later added. “You look and say, ‘You know what, Van Nistelrooy has it for a little bit. If he does well, he keeps it. If he doesn’t, we’ve got time to look for a replacement.’

“Because yesterday wasn’t a team that was playing for their manager, there wasn’t a team that was playing for their manager, they were dreadful, every player… No one playing for anybody and you look at the two goals they’ve conceded recently.

“The one against FC Twente [is] similar to this goal, the first one [Brennan Johnson]. How can you run straight through? If you ever tried that when I was playing, someone’s going to absolutely nail you.

“How dare you try and run through, it’s a bit cheeky, do you know what I mean? It’s a bit cheeky from the defender, how dare you?”

United’s next two games before the October international break come against Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League, both away from home.

An upturn in form is drastically needed from Ten Hag and his players if they are to avoid falling further behind their rivals.

Should United decide to make a managerial change, they would be making a ninth different appointment since the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.