Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov believes Erik ten Hag’s future at the club is safe and pointed to an absence of leadership in the squad for the club’s recent poor form.
United have lost six out of their last nine games in all competitions, with the latest coming by way of a 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League.
But Berbatov, who spent four seasons at United and twice won the Premier League with the club, believes ten Hag will not be sacked at this moment in time.
“When the team isn’t doing well, most of the time the manager will get the sack or the blame,” he told Betfair.
“I don’t think the finger-pointing at Erik ten Hag has started yet but he will be taking responsibility for how things are going right now.
“At the moment, I think Erik ten Hag is fine, but if he doesn’t correct results then it won’t be long before everyone around Man United starts to become angry and asks for change.
“If you lose a Champions League game, and in the way that Man United did, it’s painful. Rashford had a good chance to score before they were punished by Galatasaray.
“Overall, I think everyone is disappointed with the performance and with the way the game unfolded. Especially after Man United took the lead. Man United are a big team and they need to know how to keep hold of a lead in the Champions League.
“Again, we saw personal mistakes that have led to goals. Man United need to keep the faith alive to make it out of the group stages, but I don’t know why it always has to be done the difficult way.
“It’s going to be extremely difficult, no matter if they’re playing against Copenhagen or Bayern Munich. When you continue to play the way they have been and making the mistakes they have been, then Man United will suffer.”
Following the defeat to Galatasaray, Erik ten Hag urged Man Utd’s leaders to stand up having twice led in the game through Rasmus Hojlund.
And Berbatov says a lack of leadership is proving a problem for his former club.
“I think now that Man United’s goalkeeper and defenders are making the same mistakes,” he added.
“The defensive line is out of shape from time to time, the communication isn’t there and the leadership isn’t there. You look at Raphael Varane, who has won pretty much everything, he needs to be a commanding figure in the team but he’s struggling as well.
“The goalkeeper and defence need to have each other’s backs right now because they’re all making mistakes and it needs to be corrected as soon as possible.
“When you play for Man United, you must be a leader in your own way. Everyone must also take responsibility and ownership of their mistakes. When it comes to the big clubs, there will always be a certain few players that are always highlighted.
“A team is one machine, so when the team isn’t playing well, your star players will suffer too. The whole Man United team is suffering right now.
“Even if you’re doing everything to correct things, if the results aren’t there you can sometimes overdo things which will lead to even more mistakes.
“Man Utd players are in a vicious cycle and will wonder how to get out of it, but the only way to do that, is the next game.”
For more from Betfair Ambassador, Dimitar Berbatov head to: https://betting.betfair.com/football/
