Manchester United legend Gary Neville has made it clear he wouldn’t be convinced by Gareth Southgate as a potential replacement for Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Southgate’s name keeps coming up as a possible option to take over at Man Utd if they decide to make a change from Ten Hag, who is undoubtedly struggling with the Red Devils at the moment, despite now being in his third season in charge and having been given a lot of new signings to work with.
Neville appreciates that Southgate turned things around for himself as England manager, where he also came in with a lot of scepticism, but he certainly feels that he’d face similar hostility from United fans.
Even if Southgate was able to do a good job with England, United might be a far bigger challenge as the expectations are so high, and it seems clear that Neville doesn’t like the idea of the 54-year-old being chosen as the next MUFC manager.
Gareth Southgate doesn’t feel like the right fit for Manchester United
Speaking on the It’s Called Soccer podcast, Neville was asked about Southgate and the United job, and said: “I said last season, I’ve never seen Gareth as a fit for Manchester United or Manchester United to be a fit for Gareth.
“I’ve never seen it as something that the club would do, I’ve never seen it as something that Manchester United would do. The only connection I see is that (sporting director) Dan Ashworth has worked with Gareth and Gareth has done a very good job with England.
“Manchester United fans are a bunch of people who have feeling, who have a spirit, and I don’t think they’re connected to this idea yet. Gareth could do exactly what he’s done with England if he was to come in in the next few months or year or whenever it may be, and completely change people’s thinking and change the dynamic around the decision.
“He would come in – not unusually for him because he came into the England job with not a lot of love – he would be coming into Manchester United with scepticism, there is no doubt about that, from Manchester United fans.
“He would know that; Gareth has been around the block, he would know that it’s not the most exciting appointment for Manchester United fans to be able to look at.”