Gary Neville does not foresee the Manchester United board terminating Erik ten Hag’s employment, even as the club endures their worst start to a season in 61 years.

The Red Devils suffered a significant setback, exiting the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 defeat against Newcastle, just three days after a demoralizing loss to Manchester City in the Premier League.

The mounting pressure on Ten Hag comes in the wake of United’s eighth loss in their opening 15 matches, a feat not witnessed since the 1962/63 season.

Nonetheless, former United defender Neville has provided a rationale for why United is unlikely to part ways with Ten Hag.

He outlined six compelling reasons to support this view. Neville’s first point is that the board has faith in Ten Hag’s ability to reverse the team’s fortunes.

Ten Hag, who arrived from Ajax last summer, steered United to a third-place finish in the Premier League and clinched the Carabao Cup in his inaugural season at the helm.

The Red Devils also made it to the FA Cup final, narrowly losing to City. Neville contends that these achievements contribute to Ten Hag’s job security.

Neville’s third argument centres on the financial implications of parting with Ten Hag and his coaching staff. Dismissing him would necessitate a payout of approximately £15 million for the coaching team.

With Ten Hag under contract at Old Trafford until 2025 and currently earning £9 million per year, United would incur additional expenses if they were to terminate his contract.

Moreover, Neville acknowledged that the appointment of a new manager would require investments in players favoured by the new leadership.

Ten Hag has already spent over £300 million on transfers since his arrival 18 months ago. Additionally, Neville pointed out the shortcomings of the Ralf Rangnick experiment, further emphasizing Ten Hag’s value, despite the challenges posed by a string of injuries.

“I don’t think they will sack him at all,” Neville asserted. “Partly because he shouldn’t be sacked, partly because they believe in him and partly because he did a good job last season.”

“It won’t be on the table for discussion. If a new manager comes in, they have to pay off Ten Hag’s coaching staff, and go and spend a load more money on a new manager’s players. They have already had the Ralf Rangnick experiment of five months interim. He isn’t going anywhere and he shouldn’t be going anywhere.”

“Of course, he will come under pressure if results continue as they are but that won’t come from the ownership this season. We keep changing managers but they can’t all be bad managers when they come to Manchester United. They have been, and are good managers with really good reputations but haven’t been able to succeed.”

Neville went on to address the recurring managerial changes at the club, highlighting that not all the managers who have taken the helm at Manchester United can be considered failures.

“I don’t think they will fire the bullet this season. I think he will be given time but this will be deemed as a bad period because some of the performances have been awful. When he has a fully fit squad and his players back, then we can judge him. He has a lot of injuries and that is impacting the style of play. He can’t play out from the back, he hasn’t been able to play through midfield without Casemiro. It is a little bit all at sea.”

Manchester United performance and stats

Manchester United is currently 8th in the Premier League with 15 points.

In the last 10 games, it has won 5 times and lost 5 times. In its last match, Manchester United lost 0-3 against Manchester City.​​

It has a negative goal difference after scoring 11 goals and conceding 16.​

Manchester United will play the next match in Premier League against Fulham on Saturday 4th of November in London. The prediction is Manchester United winning the match.​