Gary Neville urges Ruud van Nistelrooy to make Man United tactical change that Erik ten Hag refused to do

Gary Neville has urged Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy to make a tactical change that Erik ten Hag refused to do.

Manchester United confirmed on Monday morning that Erik ten Hag has been relieved of his duties following a 2-1 loss to West Ham over the weekend.

The club currently sits 14th in the Premier League and is ranked 21st in the Europa League standings after a dreadful start to the season.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will step in as interim manager as United searches for a permanent replacement, with Xavi Hernandez and Ruben Amorim among the rumoured candidates.

Ten Hag, whose contract had been extended to June 2026 earlier this year, was informed of the decision before it was officially announced by Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrrada.

Van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team to face Leicester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

Neville urges Van Nistelrooy tactical change

Gary Neville has been discussing the managerial situation on Sky Sports and believes that his former teammate will “do his very best” in charge until a permanent manager is chosen.

Neville says that the United squad is better than they are currently showing but suggests a tactical change in shape could help Van Nistelrooy.

Ten Hag often refused to change formations and never started a game with a three-at-the-back shape. Neville is of the opinion that Van Nistelrooy could try and make that change to give the team “more comfort” following a difficult spell.

“I think the lack of identity and style has been a mystery, recruitment has been poor. It’s been awful at times. I believe there’s a group of players who can play better than they are,” Neville told Sky Sports.

‘Ruud van Nistelrooy will do his very best, I have thought for a number of months that looking at the players United have they may be better suited to going three at the back.

“Purely because of a lack of a centre-back pairing and the full-backs, to be fair, look better going forward than they do defensively. 

“So maybe that could happen, maybe that might give them a little bit more comfort because it would give them an extra body at the back but also get the players into a system whereby they’ve got more support.

“That’s something I’ve thought for a few months, but whether Ruud does that and whether that’s the right way to go I’m not sure. 

“It’s ultimately in this moment in time something that we’ll see against Leicester on Wednesday night whether he believed in what Erik was doing because he’ll pick a different team if he didn’t.”

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