Former England international Michael Gray believes Erik ten Hag could quickly find his job under pressure if Manchester United don’t start the new season strongly.
The Red Devils have won a trophy in each of the Dutchman’s two seasons in charge so far, lifting the EFL Cup and FA Cup.
However, last season they slumped to eighth in the Premier League and only qualified for the Europa League thanks to their shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
United are preparing to once again take on City at Wembley in the Community Shield on Saturday, but do so off the back of a mixed pre-season schedule in which they beat Rangers and Real Betis, but suffered defeats to Rosenborg, Arsenal and Liverpool — the latter a heavy 3-0 defeat.
Despite signing a contract extension over the summer, Ten Hag remains under serious pressure to get United back on track.
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And Gray — who is now talkSPORT‘s Manchester football correspondent after a playing career that saw him capped three times for England — believes things could unravel very quickly for the Dutchman if early results don’t go well.
“If [Ten Hag] doesn’t hit the ground running, then fingers are going to get pointed,” said former Sunderland defender Gray.
“We know he’s under pressure, we know what’s happening behind the scenes at Manchester United and it’s been a big turnaround as well.
“If he doesn’t get off to that winning start in the first two or three games, it’s going to be a worry, certainly for Man United supporters.”
Following the Community Shield, Man Utd open their Premier League campaign with Fulham at home and Brighton away before hosting arch-rivals Liverpool at the start of September.