Rio Ferdinand says 'laughing stock' Manchester United 'may as well appoint Sam Allardyce'

Rio Ferdinand has slammed Manchester United’s performance against Brentford and criticised the players for losing confidence in Erik ten Hag’s style of play and reverting to kicking it long.

The Red Devils gave a woeful first-half display in west London on Saturday while Brentford gave a high-intensity, high-octane performance as they harassed and harried their opponents.

After an error from David de Gea gifted the hosts an opener, Brentford pushed high and pressed United into more errors with Christian Eriksen twice caught in possession – the second of which produced another goal.

Ferdinand was disappointed with the reaction of United’s players after that second goal, who stopped playing out from the back, and feels the club may as well have Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis in charge if the players cannot play the way Ten Hag wants in high-pressure situations.

Speaking on his FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: ‘My phone was popping off, the WhatsApp groups, online, everything. We are just the butt of all jokes now. We have become an absolute laughing stock.

‘You watch the game [against Brentford] and you look at it and you think, “Wow”. The players are nowhere near worth the money that they spent on them. They’re nowhere near worth what they’re probably paying them. There’s zero confidence in building.

‘You see after the first goal where De Gea plays out, the next time he saw numbers on the backs of shirts – they ran up the pitch and just wanted it kicked long.

‘Like, we might as well bring in some other managers like Big Sam or Pulis if we’re going to be like that [kicking it long].

‘You look at it and you say, “This is not the Manchester United that I once knew”. Even if it’s a little bit of a fall from grace, [to fall]