Paul Scholes believes Erik ten Hag has had to quickly adapt his philosophy away from the possession football he wants and claims two Manchester United players are not good enough to play that way.
The Dutch manager, who arrived from Ajax in the summer, lost his first two Premier League games against Brighton and Brentford, trying to play out from the back in both defeats.
Since then, United have moved away from focusing on possession and have built up their play more quicker and more directly, with David de Gea now kicking the ball long rather than playing it short.
Whether by accident or design, Scholes feels it was a key tactical switch to make and believes neither De Gea or Raphael Varane – two regulars in Ten Hag’s starting Xi– can play the way the manager ideally wants.
‘Louis Van Gaal joined Manchester United and wanted to play possession-based football, but United are not that,’ said Scholes on Sky Sports’ The Overlap.
‘It was always about substance over style, scoring goals and making chances rather than a pretty end product.
‘The crowd get nervous when the goalkeeper tries to play a ten-yard pass, that’s not a Manchester United philosophy, that’s Barcelona or Ajax. With Erik ten Hag, he’s stumbled across it.
‘After the Brentford game, he realised he didn’t have the players to play that way, he knew he had to go more direct. ‘Raphael Varane, as great a player as he’s been, is not a great footballer. David De Gea is not a great footballer.
‘So, play to your strengths, which for United is the attacking players, and you have to admire the new manager for playing that way [more direct].’
On Varane, Scholes added: ‘Why would a club like Real Madrid let Varane go? If you looked at him last season, he didn’t look right.’
Expanding on Ten Hag’s decision to change his pattern, the United legend continued: ‘I’ve been encouraged with what I’ve seen so far by Erik ten Hag. He’s changed a lot since the Brentford game.
‘The simple thing was, don’t play out from the back. Get the ball forward to your best players. Get Christian Eriksen into centre midfield, a player who can play balls to the forward players. He had to leave Harry Maguire out. It was a brave decision. He’s a brave manager.’
