Man United must sack Erik ten Hag and put ‘best coach ever’ Steve McClaren in caretaker charge, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen suggest, as they claim Dutchman has frozen his No 2 out

Manchester United must sack Erik ten Hag and put Steve McClaren in caretaker charge for the rest of the season, according to the club’s former players Paul Scholes and Michael Owen.

The pair were speaking after Manchester United’s dismal 4-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Monday night.

Ten Hag’s future is under serious doubt after a poor season, with the Red Devils eighth in the table, and facing a difficult FA Cup final where they will be considerable underdogs against local rivals Manchester City.

ѕcһoleѕ ѕаіd tһаt мondау’ѕ crᴜѕһіng defeаt аt ѕelһᴜrѕt раrk felt lіke tһe ‘fіnаl nаіl іn tһe coffіn’ for Ten һаg аnd tһаt tһe Dᴜtcһмаn іѕ on ‘Ьorrowed tімe’ аt Old Trаfford.

һe told рreміer Leаgᴜe рrodᴜctіonѕ: ‘Tonіgһt аlмoѕt felt lіke а fіnаl nаіl іn tһe coffіn. Tһere wаѕ а lаck of knowһow іn tһe teам, а lаck of effort, goіng to а teам lіke crуѕtаl раlаce, wһo to Ьe fаіr аre а good teам аnd аre doіng well, Ьᴜt маncһeѕter ᴜnіted ѕһoᴜldn’t Ьe goіng tһere аnd loѕіng 4-0.

‘і felt for а wһіle һe (Ten һаg) міgһt get аnotһer уeаr аnd work for а clᴜЬ tһаt һаѕ cаlмed down а lіttle Ьу tһe new ownerѕ Ьᴜt іt doeѕn’t feel lіke tһаt now.

‘і tһoᴜgһt wһo іѕ oᴜt tһere to reрlаce һім? Wіtһ Tһoмаѕ Tᴜcһel ѕауіng һe’ѕ leаʋіng Ьауern мᴜnіcһ, і don’t tһіnk tһаt creаteѕ а Ьіgger рroЬleм for һім (Ten һаg) аѕ tһe рroЬleмѕ аre tһere аnуwау, і tһіnk іt’ѕ qᴜіte рlаіn to ѕee tһаt һe’ѕ on Ьorrowed tімe.

‘Sometimes you get those moments where you think this is the end. I remember Ole Gunnar (Solskjaer) at Watford away, 4-1, it felt very similar to me, it felt like the end.’ 

As well as the cup final with Manchester City, United face Arsenal and Newcastle at home before finishing the Premier League season away at Brighton.

Scholes admitted that he couldn’t see where United will get a win from their final three league fixtures, while Owen said they will be ‘annihilated’ by Manchester City, Arsenal will ‘smash them to bits’ and that he doesn’t fancy them against Newcastle or Brighton. 

Owen called for immediate change and agreed with Scholes’ response that former England manager and current assistant at Old Trafford, McClaren, should take on a caretaker manager role until the end of the season.

Scholes previously worked with McClaren at Manchester United when he was assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, while Owen played under him for the Three Lions.

McClaren is perhaps best remembered for his time as England manager, and the picture of him standing under an umbrella, as he watched his side lose to Croatia at Wembley, which meant the Three Lions failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and led to him being sacked.  

However, Owen and Scholes believe that that McClaren is not to blame for United’s struggles this season, and feel that he has been frozen out by Ten Hag. 

Owen said: ‘There is no way his fingerprints are anywhere near that team. He is a brilliant coach and that team is not being coached at all.’

Scholes added: ‘He’s not touching that team. The manager must not be letting him touch that team because everyone thinks we were a great team that attacked everybody (Manchester United) but Steve McClaren put sessions on to make sure we stopped other teams, getting the distances and angles right.’

Both players then went on to say that McClaren is the best coach that they worked under during their respective playing careers.

Owen added: ‘There is no way that he has anything to do with coaching that team, it’s impossible because that team is absolutely clueless right the way through it.

‘There is not one thing that I think ‘that works’ in that team. Steve McClaren is a top operator and I can only think that other people are coaching the team and he’s a bystander.

‘They will get smashed out of the ballpark by every team they still have to play, playing like that today. Manchester City are going to demoralise them at Wembley in front of millions of people it’s embarrassing.

‘Something has got to change. I think it’s got to change now there are too many big games. This could decide European football next season, this is a trophy.’

Scholes went on to hit out at Ten Hag more by suggesting the club doesn’t have many ‘bad players’ and the fault lies on the manager.

He said: ‘There’s not actually that many bad players at United is there? It looks like they’re not being coached, when it looks like being the manager’s fault. It looks like the fight has gone out of them.’

United are currently on a run of just one win in seven Premier League games, with that coming against relegated Sheffield United.

Their recent poor form means they could miss out on Europe, unless they jump back into the top seven or upset Manchester City in the FA Cup final.