Former Man Utd midfielder Tom Cleverley said they have lost their “prestige” but believes Erik ten Hag is the right man for the job.
The Red Devils haven’t properly challenged for a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013 with last season representing one of the lowest points since Ferguson departed.
There was much excitement around the fanbase following the signings of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo but Man Utd could only finish sixth.
They were an incredible 35 points adrift of champions Man City and 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, who took the final Champions League spot.
Without Champions League football Man Utd have struggled to attract the right players this summer with only Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez arriving so far.
And they started this season how they finished the last over the weekend as they lost 2-1 at home to Brighton with Cleverley admitted that nobody is intimidated by going to Old Trafford anymore.
Cleverley said on talkSPORT: “It is, but I think [former manager] Sir Alex Ferguson was a big part of that. People would genuinely take less money just to say that they played for Manchester United, but I think that’s slowly going now, or has gone.
“Young players are being offered so much money and it seems that their target is to get as much money as they can rather than having the prestige of playing for Manchester United.
“I never thought we’d get to this stage where it isn’t intimidating going there as an away player.
“What’s worse is that the two places where you have the most fear, are Man United’s biggest rivals in Man City and Liverpool. They’re the two places where you going and think about damage limitation.”
Cleverley – who is currently playing in the Championship with Watford – reckons Man Utd should follow in Arsenal’s footsteps as they look to put a young team together to get them up the league.
“I hope Man United can improve, they’ve got the right manager to do so,” Cleverley added.
“It was a bad start for him [a 2-1 opening day defeat to Brighton] but rather than thinking trophies and titles, it’s about improvement – sort of like the way that Arsenal are doing.
“As far as the long-term direction, they need to find a different way, which is what they’re struggling with in the market at the minute.”
