Gary Neville insists ‘this is not the plan’ after Erik ten Hag drops two major stars to the bench ahead of Manchester United’s crunch clash against Aston Villa
Gary Neville has offered a scathing assessment of Erik ten Hag‘s selection decisions for Man United‘s showdown with Aston Villa.
The Dutchman enters Sunday’s game at Villa Park under heavy scrutiny after yet another stuttering start to the campaign.
A dramatic Europa League draw with Porto in midweek did little to alleviate the pressure on Ten Hag with many believing his job could be at risk should United fail to take all three points.
Harry Maguire netted an all-important equaliser at the Estadio do Dragao, and Ten Hag has opted to start the England international alongside 36-year-old Jonny Evans in the centre of defence.
The decision means both the £98m pairing of Lisandro Martinez and summer signing Matthijs De Ligt have been forced to settle for a place on the bench.
Gary Neville questioned Erik ten Hag’s decision to leave out two key players in Man United’s clash with Aston Villa
United will start the game at Villa park with a centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans
Sunday’s clash marks Evans’ first Premier League start since a 3-2 win over Newcastle in May
Speaking ahead of the game Neville insisted the selection served as a damning indictment of Ten Hag’s failure to implement a new style of play.
‘United have six centre-backs, if you’d have said five weeks ago you’d end up with Maguire and Evans, I’d say there must be injuries,’ Neville said on Sky Sports.
‘De Ligt and Martinez have been dumped to the bench.
‘The plan was for ten Hag to establish a style of play. This is not the plan.’
Asked about the decision to leave both Martinez and De Ligt on the bench, Ten Hag claimed he was utilising his squad depth due to their busy schedule.
‘Rotation. We have so many games to cover and then you look at the opponent,’ he said.
Speaking ahead of the clash Ten Hag insisted rotation was a prompted by United’s congested fixture schedule
The decision sees Evans make his first Premier League start for the club this season after extending his initial one-year contract until the end of the season this summer.
Meanwhile Maguire started United’s first two games of the campaign but later found himself watching on from the bench as Ten Hag opted for a partnership of Martinez and De Ligt.
