Nicky Butt has urged Manchester United’s hierarchy to keep faith with Erik ten Hag and give the manager ‘time to get it right’ after the club’s shaky start to the season.
United have lost two of their first three matches in the Premier League and suffered defeat in the Community Shield at the hands of Manchester City last month.
The Red Devils’ 3-0 capitulation at home to arch-rivals Liverpool before the international break drew widespread criticism, much of which was directed at Ten Hag after a limp and uninspiring performance at Old Trafford.
It comes after United’s worst showing in top flight since the Premier League era began, with Ten Hag’s men finishing outside of the European places down in eighth place last term.
United did end last season on an almighty high, though, as Ten Hag masterminded a stunning win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final to secure the trophy for a 13th time in the team’s history.
The club have spoken with several managerial candidates in recent months but decided to stick with Ten Hag for the new season – and Butt hopes the Dutchman continues to get their backing despite recent results.
‘There’s no point sacking somebody if there’s nobody to come in,’ former United midfielder Butt told Manchester Evening News when asked about Ten Hag’s future.
‘Clubs all over the world do it, I think it’s crazy.’
The 1999 treble winner added: ‘They sack a manager because it’s not going well and they don’t have any reasonable targets coming in, then they bring another wrong one in and it’s a knock-on effect.
‘For me, I’d give him time to get it right. It’s just the start of the season, we’ve only played three or four games and you’ve got to stand by him.
‘If they don’t do that, they just should have let go of him in the post-season.’
Butt believes United supporters may need to be patient with new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe given the 71-year-old’s takeover comes at a time when the club are ‘way off’ winning the Premier League title.
‘It’ll take time, you can’t really judge him right now,’ Butt continued.
‘One thing is for certain, the team has got to improve. I think everyone would say that openly.
‘They’re a long way off winning the title but what Ratcliffe has done is put experts in the right positions and hopefully you’ll see the fruition of that in the next few years.’