Roy Keane said that Manchester United resembled a Championship team as Erik Ten Hag’s struggling squad barely made it to the FA Cup final, defeating second-tier Coventry in a penalty shootout.
Despite leading 3-0 in the semi-final, Coventry, managed by Mark Robins, nearly staged a remarkable comeback at Wembley, hitting the crossbar in extra-time and having a goal disallowed due to a very close VAR decision in the 121st minute.
“I don’t like what I see from this United team,” Sky Sports pundit Keane told ITV. “They are hard to like. They play in moments. We go on about leadership and character, but I don’t see any of this from this United group.
“My goodness, they rode their luck at the end. The substitutions, the goal gave Coventry belief and all of a sudden they looked like a Premier League team in extra-time and United looked like a Championship team.”
The former United captain Keane also admitted he was bordering on disliking the team he guided to seven Premier League titles after their latest shambolic performance.
Jamie Carragher from Sky Sports thinks Coventry’s strong comeback might result in Erik Ten Hag losing his job, even though Manchester United won the shoot-out.
“Mark Robins famously kept a Manchester United manager’s job,” Carragher said. “I think that result today has just cost a Manchester United manager his job.
“I don’t see how Erik ten Hag stays. It’s just performance after performance. I would imagine that is probably the most-embarrassed dressing room of a team that has just won a big game. The players won’t know whether to celebrate, they are probably all sat there looking at each other.
“What is it about Ten Hag that makes you think he’s going to take Manchester United forward next season? I just don’t see it.”