Erik ten Hag has been told to avoid the Manchester United job by Ruud Gullit due to the amount of scrutiny he'll be under from Old Trafford legends such as Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand.
The Dutchman is now the favourite to succeed interim boss Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford - seeing off other frontrunner Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino in the process. Ten Hag is highly thought of by the United hierarchy having impressed since taking charge of the Eredivisie giants in 2017.
United appointed Rangnick to steady the ship in the wake of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal in November of last year, but the reality has been anything but. The club remain in disarray on the pitch and look increasingly likely to miss out on Champions League qualification in a season they were originally touted to be in the title race.
United's most recent outing saw them stumble to a 1-0 defeat away at relegation-threatened Everton. Despite this, Ten Hag is rumoured to be keen on making the switch - though he has received some words of advice from his fellow countryman Gullit.
The ex-Chelsea midfielder mentioned Neville and Ferdinand as reasons why Ten Hag should be wary of the kind of pressure he will be taking on if he becomes Red Devils manager. Speaking to Ziggo Sport, the former Netherlands international pondered: "Is it the right choice? That remains to be seen. They want to play the football he plays, but it will be a really terrible job.
"There are all these former players in the TV studios: Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes… There is constant pressure on the team, that is not easy. Know what to expect, it’s a huge job. He also has to be given the time, but I don’t know if you get the time at Manchester United.
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Gullit went on to seemingly bemoan the rate in which so many ex-United players analyse every detail of their former side's fortunes. "The former players are constantly talking, you have a lot of things on your plate and you have to be able to handle that," he added. "I would like it if a Dutch trainer is successful there, because things are not going so well in Europe."
Rangnick's appointment was also questioned by Gullit, who was left confused as to whether the German will have any kind of say in the next manager. "It is strange that you appoint a temporary coach who will later help determine the choice of a new manager, Gullit said. "He’s going to be a consultant now, isn’t that weird?"
For all of the speculation, Ten Hag continues to keep his cards close to his chest over whether he is Old Trafford-bound. "We are talking about the game, not rumours," he told reporters after Ajax most recent fixture against Sparta Rotterdam.
