Teddy Sheringham says Manchester United could be facing another season of “absolute chaos” in Erik ten Hag's first campaign in charge.
United endured their worst season of the Premier League era last term, finishing sixth, with a points tally of 58 their lowest since the top-flight was revamped from the old First Division in 1992-93. Former United strike Sheringham has questioned the appointment of former Ajax boss ten Hag, claiming the fallen giants need a boss with Premier League experience to haul them out of their current crisis.
And Sheringham reckons United could fall even further behind rivals like Manchester City and Liverpool, while ten Hag tries to adapt to the unique challenge of the Premier League. “I don't know an awful lot about ten Hag, but he's got a tough job on his hands,” said Sheringham.
”The scale of the job at United is huge and I felt that, at this moment in time, United needed someone that knows and has experience of the Premier League, which ten Hag doesn’t have. He will not know all his players inside out yet. He doesn't know how fast it's going to be or the intensity of the league. It can take managers and players six months to come to terms with it.
“There’s a chance that United may be in limbo until the break for the World Cup as he is learning about the Premier League on the job. United could have a season of absolute chaos again next year.
“The United job isn’t like any other job in football because United are not like any other club in football. This is an immense job for anyone, whatever angle you look at it from. United are at a crossroads at this particular moment. The club could slide even further. I can't stress how tough this job is, managing Manchester United right now.
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“Everything has been sliding out of control. People say it can’t get any worse, it can get worse. If the club isn’t structured right from top to bottom and put on the right path, then United could slide even further.”
Sheringham believes one of ten Hag's biggest battles will be to sort out the fragile egos and cliques which have blighted the United dressing-room and undermined any chance of the team performing well. Ex-England striker Sheringham said ten Hag will need to impose his authority on the United squad from day one and gain full control of the dressing-room if he is to have any chance of being a success at Old Trafford.
“There's so many egos in the dressing room,” said Sheringham. “He needs to find out which of his players has the energy and commitment to get the club back to the top level again quickly. He needs to establish who's on his side and get rid of anyone that doesn’t have what it takes to knuckle down and fight for cause.
“There's a massive recruitment job. He needs to get players in with the right character and who understand the challenges of playing in the Premier League. But where is he going to find these players? I'm seeing the rumours about Frenkie de Jong. He hasn't played in the Premier League and has been playing for Barcelona, who are expected to pretty much beat nearly every other team.
“Many of Barca’s domestic opponents roll over for them throughout the season. That doesn’t happen in the Premier League - every game is a battle. The pace and quality of the league could be a shock to the system for ten Hag and a player like de Jong.”
- Teddy Sheringham was speaking to Lord Ping. Full interview here https://www.lordping.co.uk/blog/opinions/teddy-sheringham-exclusive/
