Manchester United’s hierarchy have decided to stick with Erik ten Hag as head coach beyond the summer after concluding their end-of-season review.
Ten Hag’s future has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent weeks on the back of a desperately underwhelming campaign for United in the Premier League, in which the club finished the season down in eighth place.
However, a shock FA Cup final victory over Manchester City strengthened Ten Hag’s case to remain in charge and the speculation over the manager’s position has finally been brought to an end, with United deciding to keep faith with the Dutchman.
Widespread reports prior to United’s cup win suggested Ten Hag would be dismissed regardless of the outcome at Wembley and, after the match, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe fuelled these rumours by swerving questions over Ten Hag’s future.
Ten Hag had become frustrated with the drawn-out nature of United’s review but the 54-year-old – who has been enjoying a break with his family in Ibiza – can now look forward to the 2024/24 campaign, which will be the manager’s third season in charge at Old Trafford.
A number of candidates were identified as possible replacements for Ten Hag, including Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Kieran McKenna, before INEOS made the decision to press ahead with Ten Hag.
Ten Hag’s current contract runs through to next June, and includes the option of a further 12 months, and negotiations will begin in due course over extending those terms.
Why did Erik ten Hag find himself under so much pressure?
Much was expected of Ten Hag when he arrived at the Theatre of Dreams from Ajax back in the summer of 2022.
United finished third in the Premier League in Ten Hag’s opening season in charge – one year after a disappointing campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in which the club finished sixth.
Ten Hag also steered the Red Devils to the Carabao Cup title in his debut campaign, to seal as the club’s long-suffering fans were able to celebrate their first major trophy in six years. They finished as runners-up in the FA Cup, falling to defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City team at Wembley.
His first season didn’t come without issues, though. The former Ajax boss was involved a public falling out with club legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended up leaving United as a result.
Problems with United’s form crept in the following season and before a dispute arose with a separate player, this time Jadon Sancho, who was subsequently frozen from the first-team and sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund.
Ten Hag was criticised for a number of his signings, too. Casemiro largely struggled in 2023-24 while Antony, who was signed for £86m in 2022, was even worse. Pundits also began to slam Ten Hag for United’s style of play, which some questioning if he had a style of play at all.
It should be remembered that Ten Hag has had to deal with a massive number of injuries to key players, but this cannot be an excuse for some of United’s performances, which included a 3-0 home loss to AFC Bournemouth in December.
It appeared that the the writing was on the wall for Ten Hag as Ratcliffe failed to publicly back him for months after his minority takeover completion. But after United won the FA Cup to qualify for the Europa League, the British billionaire has had a change of heart.
More to follow.
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