Danny Murphy believes Manchester United should have hired Gareth Southgate as their new manager, rather than Erik ten Hag.
Southgate is closing in on six years in the top job in English football, having guided the Three Lions to a World Cup semi final and the European Championship final last summer. It’s a far cry from his rather unremarkable club management career, which ended when he was sacked by Middlesbrough in 2009.
Thanks to his exploits with the England national team, there had been growing speculation regarding a return to club football, with some links to the United job after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s dismissal. But he quashed any talks of an exit by signing a new contract through to 2026 with the FA late last year.
United underwent a thorough recruitment process to hire their fifth permanent manager in nine years, with ex-Ajax boss Ten Hag ultimately winning out. The Dutchman arrives at United with a philosophy of attacking football and promoting youth players.
But he also begins his tenure with the Red Devils at their lowest ebb in a generation, approaching a decade without a Premier League title, no silverware in five years and off the back of their worst league season since 1989/90.
Ten Hag is expected to carry out a ruthless rebuild at The Theatre of Dreams with a host of senior players expected to leave and as many as six new players coming the other way. But when asked if Murphy would take Ten Hag or Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland, the former Liverpool midfielder went for the latter - for a number of reasons.
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"They've come a long way, the pair of them, they've got a great partnership,” he told talkSPORT. "I think for what they've achieved at England, the way he's managed players, big players, I think he's evolved into a very, very intelligent football manager. With Steve by his side I think they'd do a great job at a big club."
Murphy pointed to the transformative job Southgate has done with the national side - believing that a similar overhaul will be required to reverse the fortunes of the 13-time Premier League winners.
He added: “What United need now isn’t all about on the pitch. They will be judged on that, but initially what do United need? They need someone to bring together this squad and try and create a unity, atmosphere and energy that England have. I think that would be fair.
“What Ten Hag has done, of course it’s credible, winning the league three times with Ajax and he did alright with Utrecht. He’s not managed big players at a big club, so we don’t know how he’s going to deal with that pressure.
“Every part of his life will be magnified, whether he goes to the wrong shop at the wrong time, whether he drives the wrong car. Everything he does, is now going to be talked about.”
