Man Utd fans have expressed their dismay at Gary Neville and Roy Keane for saying Gareth Southgate should be the next Red Devils’ manager.
Southgate has emerged as a potential successor to Erik ten Hag and it has been reported that United’s minority shareholder, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is confident of luring the England manager to Old Trafford.
United legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville both told the Stick to Football podcast that Southgate would be a good appointment for the Red Devils.
Neville and Keane’s comments have been met with a furious response online from a number of United fans. X user @karthikeyan3108 wrote: “Neville should probably start keeping his opinions to himself considering his glorious stint as a manager himself.”
Fellow X user @United_Benj was also not keen on the idea of the England boss taking charge of United, suggesting he would be as bad as former Three Lions manager Sam Allardyce. “Dear god. Replacing Ten Hag with Southgate?! It might as well bring Big Sam in,” he wrote.
United fan @racheal_ifedayo also reacted with incredulity, writing on X: “What are they smoking? Why would we want Southgate fgs?”.
Ten Hag received some relief after Manchester United’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Liverpool secured their spot in the FA Cup semi-final.
Despite this, his position remains precarious as United continue to linger in sixth place in the Premier League with slim hopes of Champions League qualification.
Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate stands as England’s most accomplished manager since Sir Alf Ramsey, guiding the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and the quarter-finals in 2022, as well as leading them to the final of the recent European Championship, where they fell short against Italy in a penalty shootout.
Southgate’s contract with the Football Association extends until December, and he has opted to defer any decisions regarding his future until after the European Championship.
England is set to face Brazil on Saturday and Belgium on Tuesday.
United’s upcoming fixture against Brentford on March 30 presents an opportunity to narrow the gap on Tottenham for fifth place in the league standings.