Rio Ferdinand has likened the end of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Man United as a boxer who was knocked down and couldn’t recover.
The former United defender spoke on Ten Hag’s sacking live on his YouTube channel while on holiday in the Maldives.
And he labelled a 3-0 defeat at home to Liverpool on September 1st as the game that kickstarted a run of poor results.
Since the loss to Liverpool they have only picked up three more wins in all competitions and that has ultimately led to Ten Hag’s departure.
“They kept the man in charge, season kicks in, I actually thought we were starting to see some new signs in the first two or three games, and then we get beat by Liverpool and never recovered,” he said.
“It was like a boxer getting hit and knocked down in the third round and never recovering and getting knocked out, knocked down, every single round on the way to the 12th round.
“And finally, we’re here. The fight’s been called off in the last round for the manager, and I think now we’re going to go for a new direction.”
Ferdinand added: “I think we’ll see the method behind the madness in the coming weeks because if the two coaches, Ruud van Nistelrooy and his partner, stayed there, then I think this was done with the long-term thinking that this might happen.
“But one win in eight games for Ten Hag isn’t great, and I don’t think he or anybody else is surprised with this.
“My big thing is taking so long. One of the main best candidates that was sitting out there was probably Thomas Tuchel, but he’s gone now, he’s become England manager.
“England will be delighted with that, but I think Man United will be looking at that saying ‘Maybe, is that one that got away?'”
