Paul Gascoigne has bizarrely called on Sir Alex Ferguson to return as Manchester United manager.
Ferguson, 82, spent 27 glittering years in charge of United between 1986 and 2013, lifting 38 trophies.
In total, the legendary Scot won 895 of his 1,500 games in the dugout before retiring at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.
In the subsequent 11 years, United have failed to win the Premier League, with Erik ten Hag the latest manager to struggle to return the club to their former glories.
United have endured a difficult start to the 2024-25 season, winning just two of their first seven Premier League games, leading to Ten Hag coming under significant pressure in his role.
Paul Gascoigne has bizarrely called on Sir Alex Ferguson to return as Man United manager
Gascoigne felt Ferguson was the man to rejuvenate the club despite retiring back in May 2013
United boss Erik ten Hag has come under heavy pressure after a difficult start to the season
And Gascoigne, who famously rejected a move to Ferguson’s United in 1988, felt the 82-year-old could be the man to replace the Dutchman, despite having not managed for 11 years.
‘I feel sorry for him (Ten Hag) a bit,’ Gascoigne told SportsCasting UK. ‘I’d love [Sir Alex] Ferguson to take over for one season and just see what he could do with those players because I think some of them take the p*** out of him (Ten Hag).
‘You’ve got to give the man a bit of respect and it’s such a massive club. I don’t think some of the players realise who they are playing for.’
Ten Hag – who has also failed to beat FC Twente and Porto in the Europa League this season – was the subject of heavy scrutiny last week after United executives held a seven-hour board meeting in London.
However, the 54-year-old remains in his post, although he will need to provoke an upturn in United’s results soon to ease the noise surrounding the club.
Since the Dutchman took over in May 2022, United have finished third and eighth in the Premier League, although they have won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in that time, with Ten Hag regularly pointing to his trophy record in English football.
However, things have been far from plain sailing, with last season’s eighth place finish United’s lowest in the Premier League era, while they crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage.
Ten Hag has also been heavily backed, spending £550million in the transfer market, with United splashing out almost £200m on the likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte this summer.
But, despite this, Ten Hag – who saw his contract extended by a year in July – has struggled to get the best out of many of his star players.
This includes Marcus Rashford, with the forward having underperformed for much of the past two seasons.
And Gascoigne was particularly concerned about the 25-year-old and insisted a change of scenery may benefit his career.
‘I love Rashford,’ he added. ‘I think he’s an unbelievable player, but he just doesn’t seem to care.
Ferguson retired after leading United to the Premier League title in the 2012-13 season
Gascoigne said he felt sympathy for Ten Hag and that some players ‘take the p*** out of him’
Gascoigne also opened up on his worries about Marcus Rashford and his struggle for form
‘Even when he scores, he doesn’t seem happy about it, so there’s something going on there.
‘If that’s the case just move on. He doesn’t seem happy playing in England anyway and some good clubs will come in for him.
‘Go to Italy, that’ll shake him up. It shook me up a bit.’
United, who currently sit 14th in the top flight, return to action at home to Brentford on Saturday, before they face a daunting trip to Turkey to take on Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce next week.
