Gary Neville sends Guardiola and Klopp message to Man United boss Erik ten Hag

Gary Neville believes Erik ten Hag has got some catching up to do before he’s on the level of fellow managers Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte.

Manchester United presented Ten Hag as their new manager on Monday, with the Dutchman taking over the reins from interim boss Ralf Rangnick after leaving Ajax. The 52-year-old has taken on a difficult task at Old Trafford, with United having suffered their worst ever Premier League points return of a mere 58 this past season.

Before the campaign began United were expected to at least challenge for the title but things went wrong quickly, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job soon coming under threat. United had the chance to sack the Norweigan and hire Conte but opted against it. Instead, Tottenham moved first to hire the Italian after sacking Nuno Espirito Santo.

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It proved to be a great decision as Conte secured Spurs an unlikely Champions League place whereas United sacked Solskjaer a few weeks later but sunk to further depths under Rangnick. However, Neville still stands by his opinion that Conte wouldn’t have suited United, even if Ten Hag still isn’t in the same bracket as him and the likes of Guardiola and Klopp.

“I still think Antonio Conte would’ve stayed because of what he experienced that night (North London Derby) wherelese are you going to get this competitive element, these atmospheres?” Neville said on his podcast.

“Antonio Conte has done a brilliant job at Tottenham, he’s been assisted by the capitulation of Manchester United and the fall of Arsenal. But he’s done a good job and he was always going to do a good job.

“Earlier in the season, I was quite clear he shouldn’t come to Manchester United and I’m very clear he isn’t the right manager for Manchester United in my opinion. You can say the manager isn’t the right one for your club but he’s still a great manager.

“The others have Tuchel, Conte, Klopp, Guardiola, they’re animals of managers, they win trophies. They stand up on that touchline and they can eat you alive with their presence, their aura. Others have a lot of catching up to do, the likes of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Erik ten Hag.

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