Manchester United should target Erik ten Hag over Mauricio Pochettino, Jamie Carragher insists

Attention has turned to who will be appointed Manchester United’s next permanent manager after the club were eliminated from the Champions League at the last-16 phase

Erik ten Hag is among the favourites for the Manchester United job (AFP via Getty Images)

Manchester United should appoint Erik Ten Hag as the club’s next manager over Mauricio Pochettino, Jamie Carragher has said, despite both coaches crashing out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage.

United were knocked out the Champions League themselves following a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford, a result that condemned the club to a fifth season in a row without a trophy.

It leaves United requiring a late scramble to finish in the Premier League’s top four to save their season under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, as attention turns to who the club will appoint as their next permanent boss in the summer.

Pochettino and Ten Hag have been leading candidates for the position, although Spain manager Luis Enrique and Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti have also been linked, but both coaches would need to be prised away from their current roles.

Pochettino is facing an uncertain future at Paris Saint-Germain after the French side suffered an embarrassing collapse at Real Madrid, while Ten Hag’s Ajax team were beaten by Benfica on Tuesday to also drop out of the competition.

But despite Ajax’s exit, Carragher believes that Ten Hag is the right man for the task of turning United around as the Dutchman has experience in “building a team”.

Speaking of their respective Champions League results this season, Carragher said: “I think it’s damaged Mauricio Pochettino more than the Ajax manager because the team they had, the situation they found themselves in that game and you’re actually looking at his management as one of the reasons why they went out.

“When you look at Ajax, yes, obviously dominant within their league. But what he’s done in the Champions League in terms of the first Ajax team that he sort of and built and got to the final - that fell apart.

“Then to create this team, yes it’s gone out at the last 16, but I think if you were judging him on a coach you’d look at the group stage as well - winning every game and the way they win.

“It’s not just like what trophy a manager has won now, how his team play, how he comes across. I think he’s worked with Pep Guardiola, he was at Bayern Munich as the reserve team manager there so he’s got plenty of experience.

“He’s at club now, Ajax, where you can actually go and take their players or managers - selling clubs and I like the way they play manager.

“I was watching him at the end when the whistle went and I really liked the way he conducted himself. He shook the hand with every official, he stopped one of his players who was trying to get to the official and was emotional, screaming and shouting.

“He had a nice bit of class about him because you can’t always win.

“If it was me I’d be thinking ‘yeah’ he plays really good football, he seems a good character, built two teams at Ajax that have done really well, and that’s what Manchester United need - somebody to build a team.”

Meanwhile, Gary Neville believes Manchester United’s early exit from the Champions League was “no surprise” and thinks his former team face a “long road” ahead following their defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Renan Lodi’s first-half header put Atletico ahead in the second leg at Old Trafford after the teams drew 1-1 in the Spanish capital last month, and United were left frustrated as the LaLiga champions ran the clock down to secure progress to the quarter-finals and condemn the English side to another early exit from the competition.

“No surprise last night,” Neville wrote on Twitter. “Any decent team , with organisation and fight are likely to beat this United team.”

“It’s why I couldn’t get excited after Spurs last Saturday because that Spurs performance would will get you beat v a good team. A long road in to the end of May!”