Ally McCoist insists it would be 'madness' for Man Utd to sack Erik ten Hag now

Ally McCoist reckons it would be “madness” for Manchester United to sack under-pressure Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag is facing the sack after overseeing United’s joint-worst start to a Premier League campaign. United at down in 13th place in the table after three defeats in their opening six games, including back-to-back 3-0 home defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham.

Ten Hag is facing crunch games away to Porto on Thursday and Aston Villa on Sunday, needing positive results in both to ease the pressure on him and keep his job going into the international break.

Although there have been widespread calls for United to sack Ten Hag and make a fresh start with a new boss, former Rangers striker-turned-pundit McCoist reckons that will not solve the problems that have beset the club.

“It’s difficult to say how long United should give Ten Hag, because they’ve only just extended his contract,” McCoist told talkSPORT BET. “With the new owners giving him that new deal, it would make sense for them to stick with him no matter what happens in the foreseeable future.

“It would be madness to give him a new contract and then get rid of him straight away, that wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever.

“Unless there’s a rapid and unbelievable decline in results and standards, I think Ten Hag will be in charge at least until Christmas.”

McCoist reckons it would be "madness" for Man Utd to sack Ten Hag after triggering his contract extension in the summer
(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Despite his belief that United should stick with Ten Hag, McCoist did concede the gulf in class and quality between them and the Premier League’s top sides is a major cause for concern.

“ Manchester United have been one of the most disappointing sides in the Premier League this season,” said McCoist. “They were outclassed by Liverpool, beaten by Brighton, and already after just five games we’ve seen for definite that they’ve got no chance of winning the league.

"Their best hope of winning something this season is in one of the cups, that’s where they are at the moment.

“They have to start improving. From the manager’s point of view, the performances need to improve and they need to start taking points off those sides higher up the table.

“There’s no doubt that both the performances and results need to improve. United are a club that has to be taking three points off the rest of the teams outside the big six on a consistent basis.

“They always get beaten by Manchester City and Liverpool, and Arsenal will probably beat them this season. The most worrying thing for me is the gulf in class that was so apparent in their loss to Liverpool.”

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