Gary Lineker cannot see Erik ten Hag turning things around at Manchester United and says the struggling Red Devils were ‘found wanting in every department’ during the defeat to Tottenham.
United appear to be in crisis yet again just six games into the new season after they were thumped 3-0 by Spurs in a one-sided affair at Old Trafford.
The hosts allowed Micky van de Ven to dribble from well inside his own half to the byline where he found Brennan Johnson awaiting at the back post for the most simple of tap-ins after just three minutes.
It was one-way traffic for much of the first half and Tottenham’s control of the game only extended when Bruno Fernandes was shown a straight red card for what was deemed to be a reckless foul on James Maddison.
Spurs made their numerical advantage count shortly after half time – Dejan Kulusevski doubling the visitors’ lead with a neat finish – before summer signing Dominic Solanke added a third in the 77th minute.
It was a painful and potentially damaging defeat for Ten Hag, who is still struggling to get a tune out of his talented and expensive Manchester United squad in his third season at the club.
Speculation over his future looks set to intensify in the coming days and ex-England striker Lineker struggles to see Ten Hag turning things around and avoiding the sack.
‘Blimey, more pain for Manchester United fans,’ the Match of the Day host said on The Rest is Football podcast.
‘How many times have we said what is their plan, what is their way of playing? They were found wanting in every department.
‘It’s hard to see him actually turning this around now isn’t it? He must be under terrible pressure. Who knows what the owners think, you never really know.
‘We will see what happens in the next few days because there’s going to be some fallout from that particular performance.’
Ex-England midfielder Jamie Redknapp, meanwhile, said he ‘felt for the manager’ after a Manchester United defeat he described as ’embarrassing’.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: ‘United have been so abject, no confidence, no identity, they have been playing like the away team.
‘It gets to a point where you feel for the manager. He looks completely out of his depth and is struggling to motivate.
‘It was so easy for Tottenham, they were so comfortable, so calm. Man Utd are going backwards, he cant complain anymore.
‘They have spent over £600m and have his defenders in. They are rock bottom and I don’t see where they can go from here.
‘It is embarrassing because a club of this stature should not be producing performances like that. You cant get outworked and that was the most damning thing for me.’
Manchester United travel to Portugal to face Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night before facing another testing Premier League clash at Aston Villa next weekend.
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