Former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez has told his former club not to dwell on Sir Alex Ferguson’s shadow over Erik ten Hag following his official arrival at Old Trafford as an adviser.
Javier Hernandez says Manchester United must overcome Sir Alex Ferguson’s absence – and let Erik ten Hag run the club his own way.
SAF was a great manager during his 26 years in charge at Old Trafford, with Mexican striker Hernandez playing a key role in the 2011 and 2013 title-winning seasons.
The impossible task of replacing Ferguson has seen David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer come and go.
The new incumbent Ten Hag hit the headlines after a difficult summer of signings followed by an opening day home defeat to Brighton.
Ferguson is part of United’s new advisory body advising the club alongside former CEO David Gill, former captain Bryan Robson and director of football John Murtough.
LA Galaxy’s Hernandez, 34, says the Ten Hag should not have enough of Ferguson’s shadow to lift United.
“To replace such a person is not easy. It’s like winning the lottery. Do you think whoever you hire after that will be able to do 80 percent of what Ferguson did?”
“My view is that after Ferguson, the new manager and these guys will definitely get a lot of pressure. This will cause it to fail,” said Hernandez.
“United now have to forget the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson has left. Do we want to have someone similar? Yes, yes, yes. But Sir Alex has gone and it will never be the same.”
“So United have to adapt and allow the next manager to do it his way.”
Hernandez scored 59 goals in 159 appearances at Old Trafford and spoke passionately about his club’s downfall.
“The other difficulty is that United are not in the Champions League, so some players will not come to join United.”
“Of course, some players will always want to come to Manchester United. But the others will not come because they are not in the Champions League.”
“If another club can offer the Champions League then who do you choose? You choose the best club for your career. It was very difficult.”
“United are now in the same process as Liverpool when I was in England. Liverpool are Liverpool – but they are still fighting until they get a manager who can get rid of players who are not good enough for the team.”
“There was a time when Liverpool were not in the Champions League for almost four years? That’s a process. United is now a little lower than before. But I hope, with every manager, they start to rise,” said Hernandez, who will captain the MLS All Stars against their counterparts from Mexico’s Liga MX in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer issue has dragged on throughout the summer at United, with the Portuguese’s future still unclear. Ronaldo, 37, wants to play Champions League football and was on the bench before coming on as a substitute against Brighton.
On his former Real Madrid team-mate, Hernandez added: ‘There is no right or wrong choice. If there was a formula, a simple formula, we would all have the same experience in life and we wouldn’t all have our own path. Time will tell what it is – right or wrong? Will this be good? We will see. That’s the beauty of it. The uncertainty of life. We will see. What if he stays and scores 40 goals?”