Man Utd ‘a different animal’ as huge Ten Hag doubts raised; only one man will ‘demand respect’
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has raised major question marks over the club’s chase for Ajax chief Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils will appoint a new permanent boss in the summer, with interim manager Ralf Rangnick taking up a consultancy role with the club in which the German will have a major say who replaces him.
The size of the task for the new man in charge was there for all to see during the Manchester derby on Sunday.
United were crushed 4-1 by Manchester City at The Etihad after a positive first-half display. And after the game they were roundly criticised for their lacklustre performance.
The result saw City extend their lead at the summit Premier League summit to six points. United, meanwhile, dropped out of the top four.
Ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are the two leading candidates to take over at the end of the season.
Ten Hag doubts raised
The Dutchman is known to be Rangnick’s preferred choice. However, Saha has warned United is ‘a different animal’ to Ajax and that some of the Red Devils squad may not even know who Ten Hag is.
“He has quality for sure, the Dutch people are very knowledgeable about football,” Saha told Metro.co.uk.
“But I’m sorry, it is a different animal. Ajax is a trampoline for big clubs. They are respected in world football but they are not in that league. This is not Milan or Real Madrid.
“I am sure that most of the players would not know him. Managing this club is a different thing. We have seen some big names come in and they didn’t make it.
“Jose Mourinho is one of the biggest in world football, he brought results in terms of winning trophies but we claim it was an unsuccessful spell.”
Have Arsenal now all-but secured a top-four Premier League finish?
Zidane would demand respect
However, one man who Saha does believe could make a difference is Zinedine Zidane. The legendary France playmaker is currently without a job after leaving Real Madrid back in May 2021.
“I like the idea of Zinedine Zidane because he will get the respect,’ Saha said, speaking on behalf of FreeBets.com.
“The problem is the Premier League is so difficult and so hard to adapt to that even he will struggle a little bit I think. The Premier League is a different thing he has never experienced.”
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