Gary Neville ‘fascinated’ by Erik ten Hag’s work at Manchester United and winning the derby makes it five straight league wins | football news

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Gary Neville has hailed the “fantastic” work Eric ten Hag is doing at Manchester United to boost team spirit at the club once again after many years of dressing room problems.

United are now a point behind second-placed Manchester City after beating their rivals on Saturday at lunchtime to claim their fifth successive league win.

They did it in the absence of two regular first-choice players at the back and still lacked amazing options because Wout Weghorst didn’t sign on to feature.

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, former Manchester United defender Neville has made it clear how impressed he is with the turnaround Ten Hag has overseen at Old Trafford since his appointment last summer.

He said: “If you had told me United would have had four back from Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw at centre-back, Malacia at left-back and three in front of Bruno, Martial and Rashford – seven or eight months ago, I would have said United had a problem.” big.

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“Eric ten Hag is doing an incredible job there. He still has a team that, on paper, looks a lot less than it needs to be. But he’s extracted everything he needs from them.

“Casimiro is in midfield, a big deal. It was a really good decision from Ten Hag to appoint Fred. [against City]. United’s midfield at the Etihad earlier in the season was McTominay, Eriksen and Fernandes, with another solid blocking player positioning Fred a major blow.

“It meant the game was more difficult for City, and Casemiro was absolutely brilliant. The authority, composure and Manchester United’s midfield have been the problem for many years and in fact this is the strongest part of the team and instead they need additions in defense and outright. “

Since a 4-0 thrashing at Brentford in Ten Hag’s second game, United have dropped just 10 points in 16 games, beating Liverpool, Arsenal and now neighbors City along the way.

Against the backdrop of that embarrassing reversal in west London, United’s new boss forced his players into extra training to cover the distance Brentford covered during the game more than his players, totaling more than eight miles.

This was the first sign that Ten Hag was seeking to impose his authority on his new club, but not the last. Cristiano Ronaldo has since left the club after a surprise interview with Piers Morgan, while the Dutchman has also decided to leave captain Harry Maguire out of the squad for most of the league’s matches.

“I thought it was a risk at the time I heard that story, you know what the players were like and the spirit was like at the time,” Neville said.

“I am fascinated by the job Ten Hag has done. If you had told me four months ago this is where Man United would be, I would have given me no chance.

“I would have said they finished halfway down the table, the way they were. Coming back from last season, the beginning of this season, I thought they weren’t close at all. I thought they overpaid for Anthony, I thought they overpaid for Casemiro.” It looked like the usual Manchester United scare.

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Free to watch: Highlights from Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City in the Premier League.

“So it’s worth remembering in moments like this that we shouldn’t go too far, but the job the coach did not just on the pitch but with the players, how he brought them together and that spirit, the way he handled the big situations.

“Harry Maguire has had a big cloud on him for several months, maybe a year. Should he be playing? Shouldn’t he be playing? The Cristiano Ronaldo situation has been handled perfectly. Those who have questioned him getting it right may actually be thinking that he Got it.

“In terms of how he took the best of him out of the situation, how he handled the Jadon Sancho situation, he’s never been taken back. Anthony, £90m, left him on the bench against Man City. There’s certainly no problem leaving a £90m player. on the bench.

“All these things, Luke Shaw played at centre-back before Lisandro Martinez. It’s brave decisions – I thought Martinez would play, I thought Shaw would be left-back. But he knows what he wants to do, and he’s willing to take risks, he’s his man. He’s got Very, very good job. Great job.”

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Pep Guardiola believes Marcus Rashford was offside in Man United’s equalizer and his team would have defended differently if he had not been in that position.

Although United are still nine points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, they have reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and are likely three games away from lifting them to end the worst drought they have seen in four decades.

Jose Mourinho remains the last manager to win titles at Old Trafford when he led the side to the Europa League title in 2017 – although Neville is confident Ten Hag can end that barren spell next month.

“There are more months left, but City’s out of the Carabao Cup, I know they had tough games against Nottingham Forest, they’ll have a final against one of the other two teams, but there’s a big chance of winning this season’s cup at that.”

“They have a chance to get close to those two teams at the top. I don’t think they can win the title, but the fact that we’re even talking about the fact that they could be equal to Arsenal in a few weeks is unheard of.

“The club still has to be sold, and the Glazers have to do that in the next month or two. I think that will give more confidence to the club that they have the right manager, hopefully better owners who have got the money the club needs and instead of taking money from Club, invest money in it.

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