Gary Neville tells Erik ten Hag what he must do to save Man Utd job amid sack fear

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United are enduring a torrid season and must improve quickly if their manager is to remain in charge – with a new co-owner arriving shortly

Gary Neville has urged Erik ten Hag to “somehow finish the season strongly” if he wants to remain in charge of Manchester United – but the manager needs his best players fit again.

The Red Devils suffered another defeat on Saturday evening, as Nottingham Forest won 2-1 at the City Ground. Marcus Rashford cancelled out Nicolas Dominguez’s opener, but Morgan Gibbs-White scored in the 82nd minute to snatch the points for the hosts.

The result leaves United, who are already out of Europe and the Carabao Cup, seventh in the Premier League. Ten Hag’s side are 11 points behind table-toppers Liverpool having played a game more, leaving their manager under significant pressure at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag’s role will be scrutinised over the coming weeks by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is on the verge of buying a 25 per-cent stake in United and taking control of their football operations. The British billionaire’s deal still has to be approved by the Premier League.

INEOS owner Ratcliffe is already making plans for the future and sent Sir Dave Brailsford, the former chief of British Cycling, to watch United’s recent games. Brailsford is now the sporting director of INEOS, making him Ratcliffe’s right-hand man in the takeover saga.

Brailsford watched United recover from two goals down against Aston Villa to win 3-2 at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, but he also saw their woeful display at the City Ground. “With the new ownership, Sir Dave Brailsford’s going to be on a watching brief, week in, week out now,” Neville told Sky Sports after Saturday evening’s game.