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Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Sir Alex Ferguson
Dominic Booth
Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Sir Alex Ferguson
Richard Keys believes Manchester United are no better under Erik ten Hag than they were under their three previous managers.
The former Sky Sports presenter, now anchoring football coverage on the middle east platform beINSports, questioned the 'hysteria' around United this season, who many accept to be on an upward trajectory under Ten Hag.
United won the Carabao Cup in February, they've already booked a spot in the FA Cup final to be played on June 3 and they're in pole position to finish in the top four.
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But Keys – who famously dubbed the United boss 'Erik ten months' as he believed he'd be sacked inside a season – still isn't convinced by the Dutchman. He insisted that United have been better under Ten Hag's three predecessors, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
"I just don't share the general hysteria about Manchester United right now," he told beIN Sports. "I don't think they're any better than they've been since Fergie left.
"I think they've been better at different times. I think they were better under Mourinho; I think they were better under Van Gaal; I think they were arguably better under Solskjaer.
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"So, I just don't share the hysteria that Ten Hag has turned up and turned them into what they once were. They are miles away."
Keys' co-host Andy Gray admitted he wasn't fully 'convinced' by Ten Hag but said the club were in a better position to 'go forward' under the Dutchman. "There is the potential there," he said. "If they get the owners sorted, there's the potential for them to where they once were, whether that's with Ten Hag or someone else."
United finished a distant sixth in the Premier League last season – recording their lowest ever points tally – under Solskjaer (who was sacked in November) and then interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
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Solskjaer and Mourinho both led United to second place finishes, with the Portuguese winning the Carabao Cup and Europa League in 2017. The club haven't won the league title since Sir Alex Ferguson's final season in 2012/13.