Roy Keane slams Man United board meeting over Erik ten Hag as pundits left speechless

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane left his fellow pundits speechless with a lengthy tirade about the current state of affairs at Old Trafford.

During a new episode of The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast, sponsored by Sky Bet, Keane shared his thoughts on Erik ten Hag's situation with Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Jill Scott and Ian Wright. This followed a seven-hour board meeting at United on Tuesday to discuss Ten Hag's position after a poor start to the 2024/25 season.

The pressure is mounting on the United manager following a string of lacklustre performances, with the team failing to secure a victory in their last five games across all competitions. Ten Hag has managed just six wins in the club's last 21 Premier League matches and only one win in their previous 10 European fixtures, despite receiving backing of around £205million in the summer.

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There has been deafening silence since the board meeting, which took place in London, with it still unclear what the future holds for Ten Hag. At the moment, it appears the Dutchman will attend the club's pre-match press conference against Brentford next week and then lead the team for the match at Old Trafford on the Saturday.

When questioned about whether he believed Ten Hag would remain in his role until at least Christmas, Keane admitted he was unsure of the internal workings at Old Trafford and expressed that he doesn't "recognise" the current state of affairs at the club, reports the Express.

"I don't know [on whether Ten Hag will last until the end of the year]. I'm sure club's have board meetings all the time, I'm sure they're constantly discussing the manager, recruitment and staff," Keane said. "But to me, United was always about good people and good characters, and people who could play for Man United, and deal with it, but I don't see that now. I don't recognise this team, I don't recognise the club.

"A couple of months ago everyone was saying, 'they've got new people coming on board, they'll have all the answers', more money on recruitment and United have gone backwards."

Keane pointed out the changes in United's hierarchy and the constant turnover of personnel at all levels within the club, as he also warned that United risked losing its footballing identity as the business aspect threatened to overshadow the club's on-pitch activities. His comments then brought a hushed silence to the room as he delivered a stern message to his former club.

"They're chopping and changing and getting rid of everyone in the background which is fine, there's a business side to it, we know that," Keane added.

"But when we're discussing Man United it's more like a business than a football club. Football clubs are about people and good people who turn up and put a shift in and who are good, honest people.

"We all work in sport and in different environments and it's about working with good people, and what I see at Man United, stepping back a bit, and it might be a bit harsh, I'm not sure I'm seeing proper footballing people who are making the right decisions for the club."

Keane expressed his frustration over the transparency of the club's board meetings, which often become public knowledge. He was also critical of the club's reliance on familiar faces to bring about change.

"It's more of a business having these board meetings and everyone seems to know about these board meetings, why can't they have these board meetings without anyone knowing about them or where they are? You can't tell me they can't find a nice little hotel in the lakes or somewhere," Keane said.

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"I'm serious, why do we know all this information? Why is this public knowledge? You see all these people at the match, all lined up, and [Sir Alex] Ferguson and you wonder if it's ever going to change?"

Despite Keane's frustration with Manchester United's leadership and confusion over who has the ultimate say, it is understood that a powerful trio comprising United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-chairman Joel Glazer, and INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford are at the core of making crucial decisions for the club.

For recent talks regarding manager Erik ten Hag, the committee was joined by CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth, and technical director Jason Wilcox. The decision-making team is rounded out by CFO Roger Bell and COO Collette Roche, who also have influence on Ten Hags future at United.

Despite holding significant sway at United, Ratcliffe has sought to downplay his personal role in any decisions affecting the position of Uniteds current coach. In a discussion with BBC Sport, he clarified: "At the end of the day it's not my call.

"It's the management team that's running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects."

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