Sir Alex Ferguson shows Manchester United MUST keep Erik ten Hag, says club legend

Manchester United legend Steve Bruce has explained why the club may be better off sticking with Erik ten Hag for another season.

Ten Hag has had a challenging second season, and Mauricio Pochettino and Kieran McKenna are both linked with replacing the Dutchman if he leaves United this summer.

Failing to build on a solid first season, Ten Hag’s side finished their Premier League campaign in 8th place, 31 points behind league winners Manchester City.

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Bruce, who signed for the Red Devils in 1987, has elaborated on the similarities between United’s current state and their previous state under Sir Alex Ferguson.

“What the hierarchy saw at the time was enough to convince them that the things Sir Alex was putting in place, the youth system which bore unbelievable fruits, things were going to get better,” Bruce told The Telegraph. “They saw reasons to be optimistic.

“You have to look at the situation now and Erik ten Hag. They’ve got a choice: are they going to back him and say right, this is our man. For me, there has been too much change at Manchester United since Fergie left.”

United’s fifth full-time manager since Ferguson’s retirement, Ten Hag’s time with the club looks set to end, something Bruce doubts will work.

“That is the big decision. Do they believe that Ten Hag is the man who is going to get it right? If they don’t, make the change and put something in place for some longevity,” Bruce admitted. “[But] If you keep changing, look, only Chelsea have managed to be successful doing it that way, and they have some bad seasons in between too.

“The problem is we don’t know. There is all this speculation all the time… talk about the manager’s future and the replacements being linked, it does have a negative effect.

Despite all the discussions around Ten Hag’s future, Bruce made clear that one of the most important things for a manager is to have the backing of the fans, something he believes Ten Hag still has.

“To be fair, I’ve been to Old Trafford recently, and the backing for Ten Hag has been great. Forget social media, I always look at what is happening inside the stadium and certainly, the rallying call he gave on the pitch after the Newcastle game, all around me it was positive.

“Look, you can tell at a game when it’s negative, f***ing hell, I’ve experienced that as a manager.”