Gary Neville reveals reason behind scathing Erik ten Hag interview after Man United’s 4-0 loss vs Brentford

Erik ten Hag was interrogated by Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville in August after losing his first two Manchester United games.

The new boss at Old Trafford fell to defeat against Brighton and Brentford – with the 4-0 loss against The Bees bringing major external criticism.

Most of that, however, was aimed at the ownership of the club. United had not yet signed Antony or Casemiro and fans were furious at the Glazer family, even more than usual.

The following game against Liverpool – which Ten Hag and The Reds won – had a major protest against the American owners planned ahead of kick-off.

Gary Neville, who has since been criticised for the nature of the interview (as it was after just two fixtures) explained that Sky Sports were desperate to speak to an important member at the club considering the pressure against the owners, and even attempted to convince Joel or Avram Glazer to step forward.

“After Manchester United lost 4-0 to Brentford, it was the end of the world,” said Neville, speaking on The Overlap Live Fan Debate. “The owners were coming under massive pressure. Protests were big.

“We requested to speak to the owners, first and foremost. We wanted to interview them – the owners don’t stand up, so we said we have to speak to someone prominent at the club.”

The Dutch manager stepped forward and United gave permission for the interview to take place. It’s unsurprising now, since we all know the way that Ten Hag deals with the media, but was a shock that a manager that early into their tenure accepted this responsibility. It would’ve been easy to decline the upcoming scathing from the two former players.

Neville, who captained United and made 602 appearances for the club, was extremely impressed by the way in which Ten Hag dealt with the early adversity in his tenure at Old Trafford.

“Erik ten Hag was the one that stood up,” the ex-United defender added. “And he went up massively in our estimations that week.

“Not just how he dealt with us personally, off camera, but how he answered the questions. And, they went on to win the game against Liverpool and turn it around.

“It was unbelievable, and I know some United fans think we give him a really hard time – we had to that week. United fans were giving the club the hardest time. He was the senior figure that the club put up, and we had to ask him those questions.

“In the most difficult period I’ve seen a manager in recent times, he stood up and threw his chest out, and he believed he should be there.”

Since then, things have only got better for the club on the pitch. Ten Hag is now widely regarded as the man to take United forwards and has the chance to end the six-year trophy drought in the Carabao Cup final next week.

Neville, Carragher and Sky Sports are still criticised for conducting that interview, especially since other managers in the Premier League are in worse situations right now and are not receiving the same treatment.

However, that interview also gave us the early opportunity to see the character of Ten Hag. The character that United fans have grown to love so much less than a year into his tenure.