'Bang average' - Paul Scholes criticises Manchester United’s start to the season but insists Erik ten Hag is ‘right man’

Paul Scholes is unimpressed with Manchester United’s “bang average” start to the season, while Rio Ferdinand identified recruitment as one of the “areas at the club that need to be looked at”.

United sit eighth in the Premier League table after a patchy start to the campaign and lost both of their opening Champions League games.

Ahead of their crucial home Group A match against Copenhagen, Scholes sympathised with manager Erik ten Hag because of the “inconsistency” in the United team.

“There’s a long way to go but there’s definitely a cause for concern,” he told TNT Sports. “They've been bang average in the first part of the season and they need to improve.

“Inconsistent performances from players and when you’re inconsistent, it’s difficult for a manager to pick a settled team.”

United have not only endured a tricky period on the pitch, but the future of the club is unclear off the pitch with Sir Jim Ratcliffe launching a takeover bid.

The impact of that for Ten Hag and his team remains to be seen, but Ferdinand outlined some of the key problems and changes that would need to be addressed if a potential takeover should go through.

“I don’t think you look at one player in this situation, I think you look over the course of the last 10 years or so. The recruitment,” he said. “If you look at the players that have come in, who out of the players that have come in would you say can leave and be sold for more money than they came in for?

“That’s not only recruitment, but once they’re here they’re not improving either, so that’s down to coaching staff as well. It’s not just about recruitment, there are different areas within the football club that need to be looked at. Everyone needs to improve once they get here as well.”

Ratcliffe would have control of the footballing side of the club with his 25% stake, which would affect Ten Hag’s future at the club.

Despite his tricky start to life in Manchester, Scholes has backed the Dutchman as the “right man” to to turn the club’s fortunes around.

“I think that’s very hard to say [on what Ten Hag’s future might look like under Ratcliffe’s control], I think he’s a very good coach, I like him,” Scholes said. "He’s been ruthless, he’s almost had an impossible job.

“He’s almost been thrown out to the lions. He’s been left on his own to defend everything, questions from the media, questions from us and I think he’s handled it really well.

“Has he put a team together yet that is good enough to challenge for the Premier League? No. We thought so towards the end of last year, it looked like there was an improvement.

“We’ve come to the summer, and the recruitment again has to be questioned because they haven’t gone to that level. They’re expected to be challenging Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the league.

“There’s a lot of work to do but I definitely think he’s the right man, whether Sir Jim or whoever is coming in, I don’t know. But I think he’s the right man, I think he’s someone we stay with and the players have to get better.”

Ferdinand also came to Ten Hag’s aid and questioned whether any other manager has ever had to deal with the same problems surrounding a club.

He said: “What other managers have had to come into a football club, at whatever level, and had to deal with the stuff off the pitch that he’s had to deal with?

“There are so many subplots that have been going on. Your coaching badges can’t prepare you for that.

“He’s worried about on the pitch. He hasn’t even been able to fully focus on that. I’d like him to have a period of time to focus on what’s going on inside the white lines.”

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.