Erik ten Hag accused of ‘wasting’ Cristiano Ronaldo and lacking the ‘passion and fire' needed at Man Utd by former coach Benni McCarthy

Manchester United suffered a humiliating defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, where they were outclassed from start to finish, ramping up the pressure once again on Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman's job was at risk before he won the FA Cup last season and now his former assistant Benni McCarthy has launched a scathing review of his reign at Old Trafford so far.

Speaking to Zero Zero, McCarthy said: "He lacks a bit of that fire, that passion. That's where we differ, him and I. I think that was one of the difficulties that the team and the players encountered. Before I joined the team, I always had to communicate my thoughts to the head coach, which is normal. For someone like me, with strong convictions, it’s not easy. Erik always had the final say."

McCarthy also opened up on Ronaldo's return to Man Utd and believes Ten Hag wasted his time back with the Red Devils.

He added: "If we work as a team and then let Cristiano do what he needs to do in his position, because he is the best in the world at it, that is ideal. I think Manchester United wasted a great opportunity to use Cristiano in the right way. But I was not the head coach and I could not be the one to make those decisions."

McCarthy spent two years as Ten Hag's assistant before leaving in the summer so to come out and publicly criticise him is a damning blow. It seems more and more fingers are being pointed at the ex-Ajax manager who is failing to deliver despite spending hundreds of millions again in the summer transfer window.

It is a crucial week for Ten Hag. Should he lose both away to Porto in the Europa League and then to Aston Villa in the Premier League at the weekend, he could find himself out of the door at Carrington very quickly.