Gary Neville has revealed what Erik ten Hag told him ‘off-camera’ about one of Manchester United’s biggest problems in the current 2023-24 campaign.
The Red Devils have struggled in Ten Hag’s second season in charge in terms of results and performances which may end up costing the Dutchman his job.
Ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford is in doubt amid rumours that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to bring in a new manager, with Thomas Tuchel the current favourite.
Neville, working as a pundit for Sky Sports alongside Jamie Carragher, was quizzed about his recent interview with the United boss on Friday.
‘You asked him about the structure of him team,’ Carragher said to his fellow pundit Neville. ‘What did you take from that? Because it didn’t seem to me that he was unhappy with it and that it was just about injuries.’
Neville said: ‘The interesting thing about that was, and he did push me back on this, was around the fact that there is no doubt that Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez are vital to him.
‘They both step into midfield with Casemiro when Man United are attacking to provide that extra bit of pace and aggression, and they are braver. So, that was massive for him. There is no doubt. He said that to me off-camera.
‘He said it on camera, too. It’s obvious. We know Shaw is a big loss, we know Martinez is a big loss.
‘But the one big thing he said when I pushed him on style was that Man United last season had the most clean sheets in the Premier League playing the same way.
‘It was scoring goals that was the problem. He said that was proof that his style can provide good defensive stats, in terms of clean sheets.’
Luke Shaw, United’s No.1 left-back, has only played 12 Premier League games this season amid problems with injuries.
United’s star centre-back Lisandro Martinez has made even less appearances due to injury, featuring just nine times in the top-flight this term.
The Red Devils drew 1-1 at home to Burnley in their last Premier League match and return to action on Monday with a trip to Crystal Palace.
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