Benni McCarthy exposes Erik ten Hag 'plan' which Man Utd boss is still miles away from

Former coach has revealed 's primary objective before his contract expires in 2026. And the Red Devils boss will have to pull off a miracle to make it happen, with a poor start to the season moving him to the brink of the sack.

United have gone five games without a win in all competitions, and club chiefs met in London earlier this week to discuss recent form while Ten Hag's side sit 14th in the table.

With table-toppers already a staggering 10 points ahead, Ten Hag is evidently miles away from moulding United into title challengers, which makes McCarthy's admission that bit more concerning.

During his two seasons at the club, the South African claims that he and Ten Hag were working towards disrupting the top-of-the-table battles between Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

"Of course the plan was, I can't say 'is' because I'm no longer there, that within his contracted period, United were going to get into the mix with City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, where it's not going to be a one-horse race like it's been," McCarthy told .

United finished third in Ten Hag's first season, 14 points behind City, and slipped down to eighth last campaign with a staggering 31-point gap between themselves and the Blues.

Given that this term is shaping up to be a three-way battle between City, Arsenal and Liverpool; United are once again at risk of being frozen out entirely. Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks set to give Ten Hag more time, although that decision could cost him the chance to recruit long-term target Thomas Tuchel, who is reportedly in talks over the England job.

McCarthy believes that United would not be able to find a better or more hard-working coach than Ten Hag even if senior figures at Old Trafford do want to make a change.

"I can imagine how hard it is for Erik, because he's probably one of the hardest-working managers I've come across," he said. "His attention to detail, that man sleeps at 4am. And when you put that much work in, you expect things to go well, but that's why I'm saying there's something [that's not right].

"People always look for answers like replacing the coach - who are you replacing him with? Who else is better than what they have? You're not going to get many managers, unless Pep [Guardiola] decides to change from City. But other than that I can't really say there's much better than Ten Hag."