Former Manchester United duo Michael Owen and Paul Scholes have launched a scathing attack on Erik ten Hag and have accused him of blocking Steve McClaren from coaching.
United suffered a new low as they slumped to a thumping 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace. Michael Olise scored a brace, with Jean-Phillippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell also finding the back of the net to condemn the Red Devils to their 13th Premier League defeat of the season - the club's worst ever return.
That has piled the pressure on Ten Hag, with United now eighth in the table, level on points with seventh-place Chelsea and two behind Newcastle in sixth with three games to go. There is a distinct possibility that United could finish in their lowest ever Premier League position, which is currently seventh.
Assessing a dismal performance against Palace, Owen and Scholes have urged United to replace Ten Hag and appoint McClaren as caretaker manager until the end of the season. The ex-United pair also claimed that former England boss McClaren is not coaching this current United team as it is "clueless".
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Owen said: "There is no way that he has anything to do with coaching that team, it's impossible because that team is absolutely clueless right the way through it.
"There is not one thing that I think 'that works' in that team. Steve McLaren is a top operator and I can only think that other people are coaching the team and he's a bystander.
"They will get smashed out of the ballpark by every team they still have to play, playing like that today. Manchester City are going to demoralise them at Wembley in front of millions of people it's embarrassing.
"Something has got to change. I think it's got to change now there are too many big games. This could decide European football next season, this is a trophy."
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He added "There is no way his fingerprints are anywhere near that team. He is a brilliant coach and that team is not being coached at all."
Meanwhile, Scholes agreed with Owen and highlighted how McClaren can help fix the issues at United having worked under him in the past. "He's not touching that team," he added.
"The manager must not be letting him touch that team because everyone thinks we were a great team that attacked everybody (Manchester United) but Steve McClaren put sessions on to make sure we stopped other teams, getting the distances and angles right."
United have endured some pretty awful losses since Ten Hag was appointed in May 2022, including the 4-0 defeat at Brentford, 6-3 thumping at Manchester City and the 7-0 loss against Liverpool. However, the thrashing at Palace was the worst of the lot, according to Ten Hag himself.
When asked if the defeat at Palace was the worst of his reign, Ten Hag replied: "Yes. Our worst defeat.
"We should have kept fighting like the fans did. It's clear, this is underperforming. It’s by far not good enough. We are very disappointed. It’s a deserved defeat. I will keep fighting. I prepared the team in the best way I could do. It was by far not good enough and I have to take responsibility for that."
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