Why Antonio Conte to Man Utd would be a 'disaster'

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Antonio Conte becoming the new Manchester United manager could be a recipe for disaster, in the opinion of former United winger Ashley Young.

Michael Carrick is under major pressure at Old Trafford following a disastrous start to the season in which the Red Devils have won just one of their first eight league games.

Within the past week, they have been humbled in consecutive matches, losing 4-1 to Como in the Champions League and 3-0 to Bournemouth in the Premier League. It is looking increasingly likely that Carrick will be relieved of his duties within the next few days.

That means Man Utd will again be looking for a new manager, having just given Carrick the job on a permanent basis after he impressed in his caretaker period last season.

There are several high-profile names in the mix to replace him, including Unai Emery, Fabian Hurzeler, Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte.

United have one of the worst records in the league this campaign for distance covered during games, and Young believes that is one of many reasons why there could be fireworks if Conte is appointed, as the Italian is known for his high-intensity training and the physical demands he makes of his players.

"I’ve worked underneath him at Inter. He’s crazy, by the way, crazy," Young said on the Overlap.

"A lot of talk has been about Man United’s running stats. If they’re not going to run and Antonio Conte goes in there, it’s going to be a disaster, I think.

"There was a lot that he’d done, the training sessions were a lot of 11 vs 11, at times a little bit boring. Meetings were long. When I say long, I’m talking: If we lost a game, we could go in for the meeting and he’d stop literally everything. And you could be in there for three or four hours. It was like ‘come on now, let’s be serious’.

"I think that’s one of the reasons why he doesn’t last long at places because it’s not just the players he tries to test mentally, but the board as well, and the owners. I think that people get annoyed with him and think, ‘it’s time for you to go’."

Conte doesn't tend to spend very long at clubs, and although he has been extremely successful, winning Serie A on a number of occasions as well as the Premier League, his outspoken nature has not always been popular with owners.

That's another reason why many believe he would not be a good fit at United, as the hierarchy have come under immense scrutiny for their running of the club as well as their sub-standard recruitment.