Jamie Redknapp has torn into Manchester United after their abject draw at Brentford and warned Erik ten Hag’s key players may not be performing for him.
Kristoffer Ajer’s dramatic equaliser deep inside stoppage time forced the stuttering Red Devils to settle for just a point despite Mason Mount’s 96th-minute strike.
Substitute Mount looked to have secured a smash-and-grab victory for United after finding the far corner with his first goal for the club since joining from Chelsea, only for Ivan Toney to cut the ball back for Ajer to smash into the net three minutes later.
The result further damages United’s fading hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season, raising questions over whether Ten Hag will be spared the sack.
And Redknapp has cast further doubt over the manager’s uncertain future by suggesting several of United’s biggest names could cost him his job.
‘I’ve watched Manchester United under Erik ten Hag. I don’t know what their way of playing is,’ Redknapp said during Sky Sport’s post-match coverage.
‘I don’t know whether they play out from the back. They tried to do at times and they pass the ball to the keeper and he lumps it up the pitch. Do they do that for effect?
‘I know they haven’t necessarily had all the back four that they would like and if you’ve got [Lisandro] Martinez and [Raphael] Varane, it helps you build.
‘But I don’t know what the Man United way of playing is. They had so many opportunities today, Brentford, they were just better in every single department.
‘And there’s lots of talk about the manager. Will he still be here next year?
‘I think the way that the players are playing right now and that kind of performance, they’re going to decide because they’re the sort of performances that get the manager the sack, because there was a lack of effort.
‘And if they really liked this manager, if they want to play for him, they will do that. I saw so many players just walking around, strolling around and not looking like they care. And they play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
‘And that for me, it shouldn’t really ever happen. There’s too many of them.’
Redknapp also believes United’s poor display meant they made Brentford ‘look like Real Madrid’ and once again singled out the lack of desire from Ten Hag’s ranks.
‘They gave up so much possession,’ he added. ‘There was a lack of energy with the ball, without the ball. They just made Brentford look like Real Madrid.
‘That’s what I felt like I was watching. That shouldn’t have been the case. The way that Manchester United were was just so off it. The lack of desire to go win individual battles. It was too easy for them. It was almost as if Man United had nine men.’
