Fight’s been called off – Erik ten Hag like ‘boxer knocked down’ says Ferdinand

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand likened Erik ten Hag’s reign to a boxer getting “knocked down” and “never recovering”.

Ten Hag was sacked as United first-team manager on Monday following a disappointing start to the season.

They slipped into 14th in the Premier League table following their fourth league defeat of the season, by West Ham on Sunday.

Speculation had mounted over the Dutchman’s position in recent weeks and Ferdinand admitted he was unsurprised to see him go.

Speaking live on his YouTube channel while on holiday in the Maldives, Ferdinand said: “Am I surprised? No.

“They kept the man in charge, season kicks in, I actually thought we were starting to see some new signs in the first two or three games, and then we get beat by Liverpool and never recovered.

“It was like a boxer getting hit and knocked down in the third round and never recovering and getting knocked out, knocked down, every single round on the way to the 12th round.

“And finally, we’re here. The fight’s been called off in the last round for the manager, and I think now we’re going to go for a new direction.”

Ferdinand wondered if new owners Ineos deliberately planned for his former team-mate Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who will take interim charge, to be a ready-made back-up plan.

Van Nistelrooy and fellow assistant Rene Hake both left roles as first-team head coaches in the Eredivisie, with PSV Eindhoven and Go Ahead Eagles respectively, before joining Ten Hag at Old Trafford before the start of the season.

Ferdinand added: “I think we’ll see the method behind the madness in the coming weeks because if the two coaches, Ruud van Nistelrooy and his partner, stayed there, then I think this was done with the long-term thinking that this