Gary Neville warns Gareth Southgate about major issue he'd face as new Man Utd manager

Gareth Southgate has been told by Gary Neville that he would have to win "sceptical" Manchester United fans over if he were to replace Erik ten Hag at the helm.

The former England manager is a free agent after leaving his role following Euro 2024 and was linked with United both before and after the tournament. He is known to have admirers within Old Trafford given his links to Ineos and sporting director Dan Ashworth.

Just months after United openly courted other managers in the summer, Ten Hag is under scrutiny again after overseeing an underwhelming start to the new Premier League campaign with just two wins from six matches.

Links to Southgate have resurfaced in the wake of fresh pressure on Ten Hag - but Neville has concerns over the idea of appointing the former Middlesbrough man.

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“I said last season, I’ve never seen Gareth as a fit for Manchester United or Manchester United to be a fit for Gareth,” he told the podcast.

“I’ve never seen it as something that the club would do, I’ve never seen it as something that Manchester United would do. The only connection I see is that Dan Ashworth has worked with Gareth and Gareth has done a very good job with England.

“Manchester United fans are a bunch of people who have feeling, who have a spirit, and I don’t think they’re connected to this idea yet. Gareth could do exactly what he’s done with England if he was to come in in the next few months or year or whenever it may be, and completely change people’s thinking and change the dynamic around the decision.

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“He would come in – not unusually for him because he came into the England job with not a lot of love – he would be coming into Manchester United with scepticism, there is no doubt about that, from Manchester United fans. He would know that; Gareth has been around the block, he would know that it’s not the most exciting appointment for Manchester United fans to be able to look at.”

“One thing Gareth would do is weed out the nonsense in that dressing room,” he added.

Ten Hag defiantly hit back at questions over his job ahead of Manchester United's meeting with FC Porto in the Europa League. He said: “I'm not thinking about it [speculation]. I'm not anxious as well, and we are in here together, we made [plans] in the summer, togetherness, the ownership, the leadership, this agreement, and we are all behind it.

“ We knew, also, what the strategy was with young players in the transition period and we know then also in which process they can come, this can happen but they also know in the end when we are in May, all my last six seasons, there were trophies and that is why we are also now aiming for. ”

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