Former England manager Steve McClaren is set to become a member of Erik ten Hag's coaching at Manchester United, having previously been an assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at the club between 1999 and 2001.
McClaren has also worked with incoming United boss Ten Hag in the past, when the Dutchman was McClaren's assistant at Dutch club FC Twente.
Despite the links – and the trophy-laden period Man United enjoyed when McClaren was last at the club – his expected appointment has not been met with universal acclaim.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has slammed the idea, claiming that every job McClaren has held over the last 10 years has been a "disaster".
Speaking on his TalkSport show with Jim White, Jordan said: "Every club he's attached himself to over the last 10 years has been a disaster, and I think his day has been and gone." He added: "Once upon a time he was a very good coach under an outstanding manager at Manchester United."
Jordan accepted that McClaren had done "okay at FC Twente", but countered that he had "made himself an object of ridicule because of the manner in which he spoke to the press," referring to a period between 2008 and 2010 in which he won the Eredivisie with an unfancied side, but was mocked in the British media for adopting a cod-Dutch accent when pronouncing the word 'massive' during a press conference.
😳 “Every club he’s attached himself to in the last 10 years has been a disaster.”❌ “This isn’t the same Utd that he was fortunate to be involved in.”😡 “FC Twente are not Man United!”Simon Jordan says #MUFC should not want Steve McClaren back to coach under Erik ten Hag. pic.twitter.com/SH1jCcYrtDMay 13, 2022
"I look at him and I think, there is nothing about you and what you say and what you've done in the last 10 years of your management career, whether it's bouncing from Nottingham Forest, to Derby, to Queen's Park Rangers and Newcastle, and the things you've said and the teams you've produced and the selections you've made and the advice that you've given, have all been, in my view, poor.
"So I don't know what you would base this current recruitment of Steve McClaren on. What he did 20 years ago with Manchester United? It cannot be. Or 12 years ago with FC Twente? FC Twente are not Manchester United."
