David Beckham and Gary Neville hope the new documentary detailing Manchester United‘s historic 1999 Treble win will inspire the current squad.
The duo were part of Sir Alex Ferguson‘s team that claimed the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, while United’s current crop sit eighth in the top-flight on an 11-year run without a league title.
‘In all honesty, I think that anyone that watches this documentary and has a connection to United, that they’ll be inspired by it,’ Beckham told BBC Radio 5 Live at the premiere of Amazon Prime’s ’99’.
‘It’s been a difficult time for the team over the last few years now but it was always going to be.
‘When we were as successful as we were for the amount of years there was always going to be this time.
David Beckham hopes the documentary will be a source of inspiration for Man United’s struggling team
United’s historic 1998-99 campaign have been celebrated in an Amazon documentary set to be released later this month
United suffered their 13th defeat of the season on Monday night – a record in the Premier League
‘Now, we feel it’s probably gone on for a little bit too long but it will mean something to these homegrown lads without a doubt because the homegrown lads actually talk about that moment in time so we hope it inspires them.’
Ten Hag’s side are coming off the back of another miserable showing, having been routed 4-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night.
The result was their 13th defeat of the league campaign – a record for the club in Premier League history – and it fuelled more speculation over the future of their Dutch manager.
Neville, who opened up on a recent interview he conducted with the United boss, said Ten Hag remains surprisingly confident despite his precarious position. The former defender was also sympathised with the current players, given the lofty expectations at Old Trafford.
‘At the moment it’s really difficult,’ he said. ‘It mustn’t be easy for them having this history rammed down their throats and, to be fair, quite a few of us are on television and we’re talking about the team regularly so I can understand why that would be uncomfortable.
‘I would hope that say, for instance, in three weeks when Manchester United play the FA Cup final against City, they see that as an opportunity to shock this country and probably the world by beating City in a final.
‘It was an FA Cup that Sir Alex Ferguson won in 1990 that started off this successful period that we were part of. Why can’t this FA Cup against Manchester City?”
‘We can look at the results over the last few months, the result against Crystal Palace and we can feel really down about it. Or we can look at the FA Cup final and think “could this be the start of something special where the confidence breeds from that moment”.
‘I sat down with Erik ten Hag last week and I have to say that he’s an extremely confident man for someone who is under extreme pressure.’
Gary Neville admitted that the weight of the club’s history can sit heavily on the shoulders of United’s current players
Erik ten Hag is under intense pressure amid reports that he has lost the support of the dressing room
According to The Telegraph, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to entrust three directors to make a decision on whether United will part ways with Ten Hag this summer.
They report interim chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc, who took over from Richard Arnold, will play a big role in providing incoming CEO Omar Berrada with ‘more eyes and ears on the ground’ and is also a ‘trusted voice who can offer expert insight.’
Newly appointed technical director, Jason Wilcox, will join the pair as part of that advisory group and the outlet claims he will also be a ‘key’ figure in deciding Ten Hag’s suitability for the position.
Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth is yet to arrive, but appears to be growing closer to a move to Old Trafford and is set to take the Magpies to a tribunal over a settlement, given there has been no agreement over compensation to end his gardening leave.
Ten Hag’s would-be executioners will judge him on ‘his overall approach, relationship with the dressing room and the credentials and availability for potential replacements.’
When measured against these four areas, the decision will be made by the quartet over whether he will be in charge next season.
The relationship with the dressing room in particular is an area currently under the microscope. As Mail Sport, his authority within the dressing room is being eroded – though he is likely to stay in charge for the remaining Premier League games and the FA Cup final.
