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“It would be a major disappointment for Man United to miss out on top four”, says Paul Parker

Man United has performed really well since the restart of the Premier League on the back of the World Cup in Qatar, which has made Man United establish themselves in the top four, which gives access to Champions League Football next season. 

However, the results have been slightly disappointing recently with two losses in a row to Brighton and West Ham, which now means that Man United cant afford more slip ups if they want to secure their Champions League spot for the next season. 

We sat down to talk with the former Man United defender, Paul Parker, who discussed the current situation of Man United as he also claims that this season can end up as an embarrassment for the players. 

“It would be a major disappointment for Man United to miss out on top four”

Erik ten Hag

Man United are still favourites ahead of Liverpool to finish in the top four, however the Merseyside club is getting slightly closer to Man United. Parker says that it would be a major disappointment for Man United if the club misses out on top four. 

“I think it would be a major disappointment for the club to miss out on the top four. But I think it will affect Erik ten Hag even more if he is anything that I suspect that he is. He seems ambitious and to achieve Champions League football would be amazing.”

“Right now, we can’t say that the manager has achieved great things. The trophy itself in the Carabao Cup doesn’t mean much to the club to be perfectly honest. I also don’t think that he cares about that, he is bigger than that trophy.”

“Erik ten Hag will be more disappointed than the players, especially because I personally don’t think it will bother the players that much. But from a club point of view, the financial aspect and so on it will be a major disappointment.”

Low budget supermarket shopping

Parker says that the current squad isn´t designed to play in the Champions League as they have to establish themselves as a Champions League club and then build on after that. 

“I definitely don’t feel that this Man United team is designed to play in the Premier League. Yes, they brought in Casemiro and Eriksen who should play in the Champions League. But Manchester United doesn´t design a squad to play in the Champions League.”

“They are playing to qualify for the Champions League and then they have to build on from there to win the Champions League. The problem is that Man United haven’t been able to build on the club since 2013.”

“What Man United has been doing in terms of signing players since then is to go shopping in a low budget supermarket.”

“Erik ten Hag came in and he energised a lot of the players for a long time but it seems like all the players have lost that bit now. A lot of the players have overachieved and overperformed this season.”

“This season can end up as an embarrassment”

As mentioned before, Parker would consider it as a major disappointment to miss out on the top four, and he even claims that the season can end up as an embarrassment for the players if it were going to happen. 

“I think we already saw in the League Cup final but Man United won that one and victories cover over cracks, so people didn’t really talk about it. After that League Cup final, everything has been poor.”

“So, Erik ten Hag has definitely overachieved and everything that he can do now is… To hope, actually. Hope that the players he can count on will perform in the next games, and here I’m talking about Casemiro, Eriksen and Lindelof.”

“Maybe he needs to get some younger players into the team because they are hungry and want to win something despite their lack of experience. If that happens, Man United should get 12 points in the last four games, otherwise this season will end up as an embarrassment for the players.”

Raj
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Raj was born and raised in Nagpur, Rajesh moved to Pune to pursue a degree in the English Language at Savitribai Phule Pune University. Having a knack for writing from a very young age, he naturally excelled in his studies and decided to dip his toes in content editing, as well. Now, a full-time Editor, he enjoys spending his free time watching IPL and badminton matches and writing his first novel. His favourite sport is cricket and he believes cricket is life. But I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional badminton player, so badminton is also at the top of my list. His biggest win is Saina Nehwal’s bronze at the 2016 Olympics landed him a brand new laptop after his bet on the winning margin came through. His biggest goal is meeting Saina Nehwal and telling her about his biggest win.