Erik ten Hag can improve Manchester United's fortunes but will need time to affect change, according to former Ajax and Liverpool midfielder Jari Litmanen.
Ten Hag was appointed manager at Old Trafford in April after a successful period in charge of Ajax, but he suffered a chastening 2-1 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday in his first Premier League game at the helm.
Litmanen had two spells with Ajax during an illustrious playing career, winning five Eredivisie titles, three KNVB Cups and a Champions League crown.
Speaking to Stats Perform at the UEFA fan park in Helsinki ahead of Wednesday's Super Cup, Finland great Litmanen joked when asked if he believed Ten Hag would be a success at United: "I am for Liverpool, so hopefully not!
"I hope the best for Erik. He is a good person and a good coach, he showed that at Ajax, but he needs time.
"They are a big club, and they will get back to the top, but they need time. Competition is high in England so it is going to be difficult, but Erik is a good manager."
Litmanen also raised the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo staying at Old Trafford, despite reportedly asking for a move so he can play in the Champions League this season.
"We will see if he can get the best out of Ronaldo," Litmanen added. "I haven't spoken to Erik so who knows? Maybe Cristiano stays the whole season, he showed he is one of the best goalscorers in history and if he leaves, then someone else will have to take that responsibility."
Litmanen also had an 18-month spell at Liverpool, where he was part of a squad that won the EFL Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup treble in the 2000-01 season.
Although he was used sparingly at Anfield, he did play alongside Reds icon Steven Gerrard, who is now manager of Aston Villa, and Litmanen expects his former team-mate to succeed as a coach in the Premier League.
"Stevie G [Gerrard] is a big name in English football and Liverpool history and he for sure has something to give English football [as a manager]," he said.
"I was happy to play with him for one and a half years and he is someone who has a great personality."
Increased capacity of 57,000 expected at Anfield for Liverpool v Man Utd clash
Liverpool expect to have 57,000 fans in attendance for the visit of Manchester United providing the new Anfield Road Stand receives a safety certificate this week.
A test event on Monday evening is set to be attended by 7,500-plus supporters, who will watch a LFC Foundation mini-game and listen to a question-and-answer session from manager Jurgen Klopp.
If everything runs smoothly then on Sunday 7,000 seats in the upper tier will be filled for the visit of their arch-rivals, leaving only facilities for 2,000 hospitality guests and some minor work on the lower tier to be completed next month to bring the capacity up to 61,000.
Work on the £80million upgrade was due to be completed for the start of the season but an initial delay was complicated by contractors Buckingham Group going into administration, leading to a phased reopening which has seen only the lower tier in operation.
“It’s been really challenging,” said Paul Cuttill, vice-president of Stadium Operations.
“Our priority was to get fans back into the stadium as soon as possible safely. Billy (Hogan, the chief executive) said back in October it would likely be 2024 before we would open so to get ahead of that for the Man United game is a bit of an early Christmas present.
“What it has cost us is the amount of time it has taken.
“Being able to bring in people earlier has been a massive benefit to us, but we won’t know the true nature of the costs until we have got a proper programme in place towards the end of the season.”
Unai Emery eases concerns over Leon Bailey's fitness after Arsenal victory
Aston Villa's head coach, Unai Emery, has moved to calm concerns over the fitness of Jamaican sensation Leon Bailey after the winger was substituted at halftime during their pivotal 1-0 victory over Arsenal at Villa Park.
Bailey, who provided the crucial assist for John McGinn's seventh-minute goal, raised eyebrows when he did not emerge from the tunnel for the second half.
Emery addressed the situation in the post-match press conference, providing insight into Bailey's condition. Despite the initial worry among Villa fans, Emery hinted that fatigue rather than injury might be the reason for the substitution.
"He was tired, completely tired! Hopefully, he's not injured, but I don't know exactly," Emery reassured, offering a glimmer of hope regarding Bailey's well-being.
Bailey's impactful performance against Arsenal came on the heels of his winning goal against Manchester City last Wednesday night. His ability to make a difference in crucial matches has quickly endeared him to Villa supporters.
However, the Jamaican international has battled injury concerns since joining Aston Villa from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2021. Despite these challenges, Bailey has remarkably missed just one league match throughout the season, sitting out the 6-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion back in September.
The timing of Bailey's potential setback raises questions about his availability for the upcoming Europa Conference League clash against Zrinjski on Thursday night.
The hope is that Bailey's early substitution against Arsenal was a precautionary measure to manage fatigue rather than a recurrence of his injury struggles. As Villa pursues success on multiple fronts, including European competition, the fitness of key players like Leon Bailey remains a critical factor in their aspirations for a successful campaign.
Where Aston Villa’s winning home run ranks in Premier League history
Aston Villa’s stunning home form stretched to a club-record 15 games as Saturday’s success against Arsenal took them into elite Premier League company.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at fortress Villa Park.
Record run
Going into their midweek game against Manchester City, Villa’s run of 13 home league wins dating back to last season was already their longest of the Premier League era – but with the champions and their main challengers coming to Birmingham back-to-back, the fun looked set to end.
Instead, winners from Leon Bailey and John McGinn saw Villa kick on to the longest run in their history as their resurgence under manager Unai Emery gathers pace.
Crystal Palace, Brighton and Fulham, twice apiece, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Tottenham, Everton, West Ham and Luton are their other victims.
They have scored 39 goals – conceding only seven, and never more than one in a game. Ollie Watkins is their top scorer in that time with nine goals, one ahead of Douglas Luiz.
Elite company
Villa’s streak ranks among the five longest home winning runs in the Premier League era, with Emery matching Pep Guardiola’s recently concluded streak of 15 with City – who won 10 straight to end last season and their first five this term before draws with Liverpool and Tottenham.
Next in Villa’s sights is Manchester United’s 19 successive home wins between October 2010 and October 2011 – a far cry from United’s current home form.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had the chance to stretch their run to 20 and a full year with maximum points at Old Trafford, only for the run to end in astonishing style as Mario Balotelli inspired City to a 6-1 derby romp.
City hit 20 earlier in their current era of dominance, Roberto Mancini’s side with a perfect Etihad Stadium record from March 2011 to March 2012 when Sunderland, vanquished 5-0 earlier in the sequence, drew 3-3 – the only two points dropped on home soil that season by Mancini’s title-winners.
The record belongs to Liverpool, who won their final seven home games of 2018-19 as they pushed champions City all the way and then their first 17 of their title-winning 2019-20 season – again, the 1-1 draw with Burnley that ended the run marked their only dropped points at home.
They went on to win their next eight and went 68 league games, and over three-and-a-half years, unbeaten at Anfield before remarkably then losing six in a row – a warning to Villa regarding how suddenly things can change.
Good omens
Villa top this season’s home league table with eight wins from eight. Liverpool also have a perfect record but from seven games, while Newcastle have won seven out of eight.
They are third outright with 35 points, only the fifth time in their history they have had such an impressive record after 16 games.
The other occasions when, converting to three points for a win, they would have been on 35 or more are their 19th-century title-winning seasons of 1898-99 and 1899-1900, a runner-up finish in 1910-11 and their most recent title in 1980-81.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
