I spoke to Man United player – he warned of manager who dressing room would eat alive

An unnamed Manchester United player thinks Thomas Frank would be "eaten alive" in the Old Trafford dressing room if he were to replace Erik ten Hag.

The Brentford boss, 51, is one of several names being linked with the United job amid growing pressure on Ten Hag's shoulders following United's terrible start to the campaign. Thomas Tuchel had initially been a top contender following discussions with United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the summer, but has now been ruled out after being appointed England manager.

As such, Frank is now considered a top managerial target alongside the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter. That said, ex-Premier League star Don Hutchison says he's spoken to a United player about the Dane, and the response wasn't positive.

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"I won't name names, but I spoke to a Man United player about two weeks ago and we were chatting [about who could replace Ten Hag]," the 53 year old said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "I said Thomas Frank, and he said to me, 'that dressing room would eat him alive'."

All eyes will be on Ten Hag, as well as Frank, during today's clash between Brentford and United at Old Trafford. The Red Devils began the weekend 14th in the league table, with just two wins from their opening seven games, with the Bees two points ahead of them in 12th.

Frank, who was considered as a potential replacement for Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea during the summer, has been Brentford's head coach since 2018. He successfully guided the Bees to the Premier League in his second full season, and went on to secure a commendable top-half finish in the 2022/23 season.

Continuing, Hutchison emphatically pointed out that Frank being written off internally summed United's problems up. "If you're not accepting a manager and a coach like Thomas Frank who would get you organised [then you've got problems].

"Because that's what you see as a fan. It doesn't matter if your team is losing every single week, what you want to see as a fan is your team organised, which United aren't, and those players running for the badge, which they're not."

Furthermore, Hutchison questioned Ten Hag's suitability for the role, casting doubt on the Dutchman's notion that United are making progress. He challenged this stance, saying: "How is he motivating these players to run hard and be organised?

"[Ten Hag] came out today quite defiant, saying, and I quote, 'we are still going in the right direction'. So you're 14th in the league. You've got no wins in Europe. You've got a minus three goal difference and only one win in the last six in the Premier League. How is that going in the right direction?"

Hutchison spent nearly 20 years in English football as a player. The ex-midfielder, who represented Scotland on the pitch 26 times, had significant spells with Liverpool, West Ham, Everton and Sheffield United. He hung up his boots in 2009.

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