Manchester United legend Gary Neville has advised his old club against appointing England manager Gareth Southgate as Erik ten Hag’s successor. With the 2024 European Championship almost upon us, Neville believes the timing is not right for the Southgate-United union.
Gareth Southgate Is One Of The Favorites To Replace Erik ten Hag
Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in their Premier League meeting on Sunday (May 13), slipping three points behind seventh-placed Chelsea in the league rankings. It was their 14th defeat in the Premier League, marking their worst-ever performance in the competition’s history.
Pressure has been building on Ten Hag for a good few months now, and many believe there is no way back for the Dutchman at the moment. Many potential replacements have come to the fore, but Southgate is currently the bookies’ favorite to land the job. The England boss will be out of contract this summer, making him an easy pick. Dan Ashworth, who will reportedly become Manchester United’s sporting director, also has a great relationship with Southgate thanks to their time together in the Football Association (FA).
Gary Neville Explains Why Gareth Southgate Is Not The Man For Man Utd
Neville believes Southgate will not announce his decision to leave the Three Lions squad just before the 2024 European Championship, as it will cause a major distraction. Meanwhile, United cannot afford to wait until mid-July to appoint a new manager, as pre-season will have commenced by then.
Speaking on the Stick To Football Podcast on SkyBet, Neville shed light on the drawbacks of potentially appointing Southgate, saying:
“There’s no way Manchester United can wait until mid-July, when pre-season’s already started. They’d look like they don’t know what they’re doing. And, there’s no way Gareth can announce before a major tournament. He won’t do that.
“There’s no way that in a week’s time, we’re going to see an announcement that Gareth Southgate is leaving England after the tournament to go to Manchester United. That would just create absolute turbulence in the England squad for a month. He’s not going to do that to The FA or the England players, and create that huge distraction.”
Southgate’s England will begin their EURO 2024 journey with a clash against Serbia on June 16.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
