Alan Shearer tells Erik ten Hag what he ‘must iron out’ at Man Utd in damning verdict

Alan Shearer has been speaking about Manchester United amid their disappointing start to the season. Erik ten Hag’s men put together a late comeback to defeat Brentford at home over the weekend, with Scott McTominay scoring twice at the death to prevent three-straight home defeats across all competitions.

United are currently 10th in the Premier League, five points off the top four, and they are bottom of their Champions League group having lost both of their first two games. That’s despite significant spending during the summer, with Ten Hag handed more than £200million worth of signings between the likes of Andre Onana, Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and others.

Pressure will build quickly upon Ten Hag if he can’t get United fighting for a top four spot, particularly based on the money spent.

But while some fans may have found optimism in the late comeback, Alan Shearer is not convinced of United’s quality as he compared their start to rivals Manchester City.

He wrote in his BBC Sport column: “This is just a blip for City, and it won’t be long until they are back to their best. I am not convinced the same applies to their neighbours Manchester United, who fought back brilliantly to beat Brentford on Saturday but continue to struggle for any kind of consistent form.

“There is still time for Erik ten Hag’s side to find their feet but I think there are deeper-rooted problems at the club, which will take time to iron out. Before the season started, I backed United to make the top four again, but they are just not as good as I thought they would be - at least not yet.

“Late comebacks like the one they produced against Brentford can be a turning point in a team’s season, but I don’t think that will be the case for United. I need to see more evidence than that to suggest that they are back, and I haven’t seen anywhere near enough from their performances all season to think they can challenge for the top four.”