READING FC manager Paul Ince has praised Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag for ‘raising standards’ at the club.
Ince will take his Royals side to face his former team in the FA Cup fourth-round at Old Trafford on Saturday (8pm kick-off).
“It’s been frustrating, especially for Man United fans,” said Ince when asked about the state of the club since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“When you think about David Moyes going there, he never had enough money to do what he wanted and was cut short.
“When you bring in world class managers like Van Gaal and Mourinho you expect to close the gap on Liverpool and Man City.
“There were a lot of things coming out in the press with Mourinho and Pogba, and then Ronaldo so it wasn’t in the right place and there was fragmentation in the squad.”
However, Ince was full of praise for the work that Ten Hag has done since joining the club from Ajax in the summer.
He continued: “Now with Ten Hag and looking at what he’s done in such a short space of time is great. City are still ahead of them but fans can see there is a future going forward.
“He’s raised the standards of the club and is doing it his way.
“It helps when you’re winning games and when you’ve got a lot of money to spend. For years we’ve spoken about Man United’s recruitment but they are now starting to gel.
“You can’t keep changing and chopping managers and United have done that too often so hopefully he’s here for a long time.”