Paul Scholes weighs in after Gary Lineker comments as Erik ten Hag fights for Man Utd job

Paul Scholes has a pessimistic view on Manchester United’s lack of progress following Gary Lineker’s stance that there is no direction at the club under Erik ten Hag. Back-to-back 3-0 home defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur has turned up the heat on the Dutchman’s position.

Scholes – who recently surprised four fortunate Salford City fans with a helicopter ride to their team’s away game at Newport County courtesy of the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor, Fireball – has expressed his disappointment at the current state of affairs at his former club under Ten Hag.

Despite maintaining his stance that he would never call for a manager’s dismissal, the ex-England star questioned how much longer United supporters can tolerate the poor performances and lack of positive progress. Ten Hag narrowly retained his position after leading the team to an FA Cup victory last season, rescuing a campaign that saw them finish outside the European spots in eighth.

Despite a £180million investment in new signings, there has been no noticeable improvement this season, causing Scholes to question his faith in Ten Hag. Scholes opened up on the ongoing issues at Manchester United, but when questioned about how long he’d give Ten Hag before replacing him, he said: “I’m not sure about giving a timescale.”

He also expressed his hesitance about calling for a managerial sacking, adding: “I’ve certainly said before that I’ve never asked for a manager to be sacked, it’s not a nice thing. But, you do wonder how long this can keep on going on.

“I think the big thing from me and other people who’ve been at the club and fans, more importantly, they want to see a little bit of direction, a style of play that they can get behind. And I don’t think at this point we’re anywhere close to seeing a direction.

“I’ve also said before that when Liverpool won the league, when Man City won the league, you could feel something happening for them, like 3 or 4 years before that. It just doesn’t feel like we’re getting anywhere near, it feels like we’re getting further away rather than closer to where the club should be.”

In concurrence on United’s troubling state, Lineker gave his thoughts on The Rest Is Football podcast. The Match of the Day presenter critically assessed the situation at United post-INEOS’ takeover helmed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, stating: “We’ve been saying this for most of last season, ‘give them time, they’ve brought in new players’, but nothing seems to make any difference.

“Obviously they’ve got a different setup at the top with Jim Ratcliffe and his team… but there’s no real improvement. It must be pretty grim being a Man United fan at the moment… it’s getting gradually worse.

“You look at other teams, even like Bournemouth and Brighton, you can see the way they play and see the organisation, the planning, the high press. You might look at Brighton and say, ‘that’s crazy that high line’, but it is a way of playing.

“It’s the same with Tottenham. They were brilliant today, they play that risk-and-reward style that Ange Postecoglou likes – they’ve got an identity, and you look at Manchester United… they’re miles off it.”

Despite the pressure mounting, Ten Hag has stood firm, asserting that he’s not distracted by rumours about his job security. Yet, whispers persist within the squad, with players reportedly debating how long the Dutchman will last at the helm.

The upcoming fixtures against Porto and Aston Villa are said to be critical for Ten Hag’s tenure, with Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi having been touted as a potential successor if Ratcliffe decides to make a managerial change, while Gareth Southgate also remains in the mix after stepping down from his role with England.