KIEFT: ERIK WILL HAVE TO BE AXED

years. Kieft, who is now a respected TV pundit in his homeland, said: “At Manchester United, the football is still not to be seen – and therefore I expect Ten Hag to be in his last year.

“The climate Ten Hag has to work in at United is completely different from City. At the neighbours, you see a certain atmosphere, there is a true football culture and everything looks like a team, even at the top of their organisation.

“Txiki Begiristain is the technical director there and, as well as Pep Guardiola, he works with more former Barcelona people.

“United haven’t had a ‘team’ like that for a long time. Something must be very wrong at that club. After all, (Jose) Mourinho and (Louis) Van Gaal were not managers with a small reputation – and they still failed.

“It is not that Erik invented the style of play at Ajax. Ajax had been playing that way for 50 years and he was lucky to have a great crop of youth players.”

United travel to the Etihad with their season in the balance and Ratcliffe has a decision to make on Ten Hag’s future.

But Kieft believes it is clear that the Dutchman has not made the most of the resources given to him there.

Kieft (above) added: “For Ten Hag, it will be a monstrous job to contain Manchester City in the derby.

“He and Guardiola have spent roughly the same on new players in the past two seasons. Both totalled more than £350m – and Ten Hag still failed to get his style of play in at United.

“What I love about Guardiola is that you see his football vision translated very quickly on the pitch at every club he has served, whether it’s Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester City.

“Of course, at all his clubs Guardiola has also been helped by a lot of money. It’s nice when you can bring in exactly the players you want for your ideas.

“He enforces that himself because there are more clubs that can pay top salaries. Players want to play for him.”

Kieft added: “If, as a player, you can choose between a team that becomes structural champions, like Manchester City, or a club that has to fight to win a Champions League ticket, like Manchester United, it is not so difficult.

“What is also crucial is that, with managers with a slightly lesser reputation, clubs do not want to listen only to the manager. You see that with PSG, there is money, but they have never been able to develop a style of play or win anything European-wise

“Guardiola’s style of play is very impressive and it is wonderful to see that people who had the opportunity to work with him for a long time choose that same vision and style.

“(Mikel) Arteta was his assistant for a long time and look at Arsenal, surely a lot of Guardiola’s football is in there.”