Manchester United told to sack Erik ten Hag for Ruud van Nistelrooy after impressive touchline acts

Manchester United need to make a change and part ways with Erik ten Hag after their sad defeat against Tottenham.

That's the view of talkSPORT's Gabby Agbonlahor, who believes one of her club's legends should be next on the Old Trafford bench.

United were defeated convincingly 3-0 at home to Spurs on Sunday, with captain Bruno Fernandes receiving a straight red card just before half-time.

Although they lost three of their first six league games, talkSPORT understands. ten witches is configured to remain as manager for at least the next two games.

However, United's poor start to the season has seen the former Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor believing that the Dutchman may run out of time.

“The board should definitely think about a change,” he told Natalie Sawyer on talkSPORT Breakfast. “I mean, I did a press conference for the Young Boys game (vs Aston Villa) with Unai Emery.

“I would have loved to have done one last night and asked (Ten Hag) questions like: 'All your players are fit now, what are you talking about injuries? You've got Luke Shaw unavailable…' strong Manchester United team, before the match even started.

“(Manuel) Ugarte, (Kobbie) Mainoo, Fernandes, that's the best midfield you can play. (Marcus) Rashford, (Alejandro) Garnacho, (Joshua) Zirkzee… You know you spent £660 million and still, After of the party, saying, 'You know, they have my back.'

“They could lose, Natalie, 5-0 three weeks in a row, and he would say, 'You know, it's a process, the players will come, it's a new day, tomorrow will be a new day, let's go and start from the beginning.' ” You only have one excuse for every bad result…

“You have lost twice at home in six games 3-0, against Liverpool, against Spurs, you know, you already have a minus three goal difference, the gap between the top four is already, you know, quite big. Just think that, for the sake of their season, Manchester United should make a change.

“It didn't work, they tried to bring in a new coach, you looked at all the possible coaches in the summer. Then you said: 'Okay, we'll keep you', it's not going to work, the players are not even playing for him, Natalie.”

Asked who he would name as Ten Hag's replacement, Agbonlahor named a United assistant manager and said: “I would give it to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

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“The reason is that when you watch Manchester United, and even after the games and during the games, you see the Manchester United players feeding off Van Nistelrooy a little more than Ten Hag.

“I remember watching a clip after a game and Ten Hag walks straight in, and you have Van Nistelrooy high-fiving the players, hugging them.

“I think he was also a coach two years ago at PSV (Eindhoven), and he wouldn't have thought: 'I want to be an assistant'. Maybe that's the best offer he's had, I just think… It could be the same situation as ( Michael) Carrick and (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer…”

Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals in 219 appearances for United, was previously Netherlands assistant manager.

The Premier League champion also worked with PSV's under-18 team before becoming the senior team's coach, winning the Johan Cruyff Shield and the KNVB Cup before stepping down in 2022.

It was announced in July that Van Nistelrooy would return to United as assistant to Ten Hag, who signed a one-year extension at the club to retain him until 2026 just days earlier.

He faced pressure at the end of last season after finishing eighth, his worst position in a Premier League final, before winning the FA Cup, although United were still looking at potential replacements in the summer.

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“But if it's that bad, then a change needs to be made,” Agbonlahor later added. “You look and say, 'You know what? Van Nistelrooy has him for a while. If he does well, he keeps him. If not, we have time to find a replacement.'

“Because yesterday there was no team that played for its coach, there was no team that played for its coach, they were terrible, all the players… Nobody played for anyone and you look at the two goals they scored. I admitted recently.

“The goal against FC Twente is similar to this goal, the first one (Brennan Johnson). How can you go through it head-on? If you ever tried it when I was playing, someone is going to nail you.

“How dare you try to go through it? It's a bit cheeky, you know what I mean? It's a bit cheeky from the defender (Micky van de Ven), how dare you?”

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United's next two games before the October international break will be against Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League, both away from home.

An improvement in form is drastically needed from Ten Hag and his players if they are to avoid falling further behind their rivals.

If United decide to make a managerial change, it would be the ninth different appointment since the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.