![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/Paul-Scholes-Glenn-Hoddle-Hasenhuttl-Man-Utd-5043317.jpg?r=1698834316573\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag will be under no illusions about the task in front of him as he battles to turn their season around, with one candidate coming highly recommended by Paul Scholes and Glenn Hoddle waiting in the wings if he were to be sacked by the club.\u00a0The Dutchman has overseen one of United’s worst starts to a season in 37 years after a dismal run of form and may be facing the threat of the axe with doubts circulating about his future.<\/p>\n
Speculation is rife that the United squad are far from happy under Ten Hag, which was compounded by their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford last Sunday. And he will be looking nervously over his shoulder at other bosses eyeing up his job.<\/p>\n
The 53-year-old has been in charge since June 2022 after he was appointed to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick. Prior to Ten Hag’s appointment, ex-England midfielder Scholes had earmarked then-Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl as a potential candidate for the job due to his relationship with Rangnick, who was preparing to move upstairs as a sporting director.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always thought the football he plays at Southampton with not the best squad. The type of football has worked for them. His teams have been good to watch; I think it comes across really well,” Scholes said on BT Sport in 2021.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive Man Utd news<\/strong><\/p>\n READ MORE <\/strong> Erik ten Hag responds to ‘player concerns’ with three Newcastle changes[GOSSIP] <\/strong><\/p>\n “This [managing Manchester United] would be a different kind of pressure; I think people around this club, and fans especially, are thinking more of possibly [Mauricio] Pochettino or an Antonio Conte and what people have been at the bigger clubs. The more I think about it, I don’t think it would be a bad thing. The way he goes about his business, he looks good.”<\/p>\n His fellow BT Sport (now TNT Sports) pundit Hoddle agreed, adding: “Would that not be a good fit? For me, if they’ve worked so closely together, if he’s going to be the sporting director eventually – that works.”<\/p>\n In Hasenhuttl’s first season in charge, Southampton survived relegation by finishing 16th and in his first full season, he guided the Saints to 11th. He recorded back-to-back 15th-place finishes in 2020-21 and 2021-22, earning the plaudits for managing to keep the South Coast club in the top-flight with a modest transfer budget and coping with the departure of key players such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dusan Tadic.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/Erik-ten-Hag-Man-Utd-5043282.jpg?r=1698834316667\")
<\/p>\n\n