Fans reminded Erik ten Hag started better than Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta as Manchester United boss defended

talkSPORT host and Manchester United fan Andy Goldstein has jumped to the passionate defence of Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman arrived as the Red Devils’ new manager last summer from Ajax and enjoyed a successful first season at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag was on hand to deliver silverware to Old Trafford last seasonGetty

But United haven’t hit the heights expected of them so far this seasonGetty

He helped to deliver United their first trophy since 2017 with the Carabao Cup and also secured a Premier League top four finish.

However, their underwhelming start to the current campaign has raised questions over whether or not he is the right man for the job.

United have won twice but also lost twice in their opening four games, with a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal being their latest blow.

Despite such results, Goldstein remains part of the ‘In Erik we trust’ camp and explained why his tenure has been a success so far.

Speaking on talkSPORT Drive with Darren Bent, he said: “Without a doubt I back him, for so many reasons.

“Firstly, in his first season at United he got us in the top four, two cup finals and won one of them. That on it’s own should be enough for you to go, ‘Yeah, he is without doubt the right man.’

“He’s also got rid of a lot of deadwood at the club, [Paul] Pogba, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Jesse] Lingard gone. He’s got injuries to [Mason] Mount, [Raphael] Varane, [Luke] Shaw, [Lisandro] Martinez, [Tyrell] Malacia, then other players like [Amad] Diallo, [Kobbie] Mainoo…”

Bent did not agree with his reasoning though, responding: “You can’t throw injuries in there, when it’s other clubs people don’t use that excuse.”

However, Goldstein replied: “You’ve got to take that into account as to why we’re getting bad results.

“After his first 25 games in charge, he had a win ratio of 72 per cent, that was better than Pep Guardiola 56 per cent, better than Mikel Arteta 56 per cent, better than Jurgen Klopp 48 per cent. So after 25 games, he was above them.

“After about 40 games, which was about a week-and-a-half ago, he got more points after 40 games [78] than Klopp, who got 71 points, Arteta got 63, Pep got 82 which is a few more than Ten Hag.

“So after 40 games only Pep Guardiola, by two wins, is a better manager, so you cannot question whether or not he’s the right man for the job.”

Ten Hag will be hoping the international break will provide a much-needed refreshGetty

He added: “When he got to the club it was a state. You had people earning far too much money, the wrong attitude, he’s got rid of them all.”

Bent then questioned their form away from home under Ten Hag, with just eight wins from 19 coming in the Premier League last season, but Goldstein responded: “It’s work in progress.

“What do you expect from him, to win the league now? Second season, well done you got top four, won the League Cup, now win the league. That won’t happen!”

United have entered the international break with four points from a possible 12 and will have a tough return to action.

Ten Hag and co. will face highly-flying Brighton at Old Trafford before travelling to Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage.