Ruud Gullit says Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand are already putting too much pressure on Erik ten Hag to succeed at Man Utd

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NEC Nijmegen v Ajax - Dutch Eredivisie — Ten Hag has a huge job on his hands in Manchester (Picture: Getty)

Ruud Gullit fears Erik ten Hag will not be given enough time to fix Manchester United – suggesting former Reds Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand are already putting pressure on the new manager.

Ten Hag will become United’s fifth manager in nine years when he arrives at Old Trafford at the end of the season and will oversee a major overhaul this summer.

Former United defenders Ferdinand and Neville hold prominent punditry posts on BT Sport and Sky Sports respectively, with the former this week unveiling his ‘six-point plan’ to save the club after five seasons without a trophy.

And former Netherlands international Gullit, who managed Chelsea and briefly Newcastle United in the Premier League, fears constant scrutiny from United legends will add unnecessary pressure onto ten Hag.

‘I follow the media in England and I have already concluded that Ten Hag will not get the time to change things,’ Gullit told The Rondo Show via The Mirror.

Neville and Ferdinand ‘have put the pressure on’, says Gullit.

‘Rio Ferdinand has put the pressure on, Gary Neville has done it, all the papers will be onto him. I have lived and worked in England.’

While Gullit believes United have finally made the right move in appoint a ‘young, modern manager’, he believes they have already fallen too far behind and says ten Hag will struggle to restore the club to their former glory.

‘The first club all the media look at and talk about is United,’ he said.

‘What United have done wrong is that when Man City and Liverpool made a change in their playing styles to a very attacking way, playing 4-3-3, pressing the opponent and using an aggressive style, United went the other way.

‘They went for older managers like David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.

‘That did not work. Now United have realised that they must go for a young, modern manager too.

‘But it’s too late. In the end, they have now ended up with Ten Hag. As much as I wish he will succeed at United, my fear is that this is going to be a really, really difficult project for him.’

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