Man Utd told to put club legend in charge on interim basis if Red Devils decide to sack Erik ten Hag
MANCHESTER UNITED have been told to consider putting a club legend in charge if they sack Erik ten Hag by one of their 1999 Treble winners.
The Dutchman, 53, has come under pressure after a poor first half of the campaign and remains the favourite to be the next Premier League manager to go.
United are eighth in the top-flight table – 14 points adrift of leaders Liverpool – and have already been knocked out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Several reports continue to swirl around Ten Hag’s future with rumours he does not have the full backing of the entire playing squad, who are split on the ex-Ajax chief.
However, it emerged this week that he looks set to avoid the sack this season as Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who bought 25 per cent of United on Christmas Eve for £1.3billion, is planning a detailed structural review which will likely take up to two months.
But that could all change should results get even worse, and ex-United striker Dwight Yorke believes that Ratcliffe and his fellow chiefs should consider hiring a former player as interim until they decide on a long-term replacement should Ten Hag go.
Although he added that they should stay away from Wayne Rooney after his brief woeful stint in charge of Birmingham City as he named the two men he wants to see come in.
Yorke, 52, told Footy Accumulators: “I don’t see any benefit of appointing Wayne Rooney in a caretaker role should Ten Hag get sacked.
“Wazza shouldn’t be put in that position – especially before me!
“The club may have to consider putting a club legend in charge on an interim basis, but I think Zinedine Zidane is the only option the board should seriously consider right now.
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“Look at the stature he has in the game and what he achieved at Real Madrid.”
Yorke continued: “There aren’t too many other options out there – a lot of them have already had their chance.
“People are saying Graham Potter should take over, but he’s already had a chance at an elite club.
“Managers from smaller clubs should always grab the opportunity to take over a huge club at United. Elite clubs have bigger revenues, players, and expectations, and managers should jump at the chance.
“People say the pressure is huge, but that’s just part of the expectation. Everything is better at a big club.
“Those arriving from smaller clubs should aim to go forward instead of backward. Graham Potter had the chance at Chelsea, and I don’t think he’d suddenly succeed at Man United. He was a failure at Chelsea and he didn’t capitalise.”
Yorke then added Brighton’s manager to the list of potential successors to Ten Hag, adding: “I think Roberto De Zerbi may have a chance, but that remains to be seen.
“He’s one name to consider, but everybody else has had their chance. I don’t see anybody outside of Zidane and De Zerbi.”
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