Manchester United: big turnaround for Erik ten Hag

A third place and a Carabao Cup for his first season with Manchester United, Erik ten Hag seemed to be the lucky one to finally put Manchester United back on the roof of English football. Unfortunately for the Dutch coach, the 2023/2024 season was overall a disappointment. Eighth in the Premier League and eliminated ingloriously with a 4th place in the Champions League behind Bayern Munich, Copenhagen and Galatasaray, Manchester United dragged its spleen from start to finish. If the injuries did not help, the performances and the play displayed were very disappointing.

However, it ended on a good note with the FA Cup won this Saturday against rival Manchester City (2-1). A title which feels good and which will allow the Red Devils to compete in the Europa League next season. A consolation which pushed Erik ten Hag to send a message to his leaders: “we didn’t have the players. We saw the same things, not always good football, certainly not, but we had to compromise all the time and you can’t play the football you want to play. (…) If they don’t want me anymore, I will go elsewhere and win trophies. That’s what I do.”

The club structure was more lacking than the coach

Showing pride in defending his record, Erik ten Hag put his point of view across and it seems to have had its small effect. As reported the Manchester Evening News, the English club would have reviewed its position on the Erik ten Hag file and would be willing to keep it. The leaders of the Reds Devils have also warned the representatives of the other coaches whom they contacted to warn them that they were not closing in on the idea of ​​retaining the former coach of Ajax Amsterdam. Among them, we find Kieran McKenna who had also given his preference to the Red Devils rather than Chelsea. However, the coach who took Ipswich Town to the Premier League is said to be on the verge of an extension with the promoted side.

The name of Thomas Tuchel, who left Bayern Munich, also comes up, but one thing is unanimous. According to Jim Ratcliffe, owner of Inéos and new investor in Manchester United, the structure of the club has been more problematic than the coach in the current season. Erik ten Hag’s FA Cup victory allowed him to become the first English club manager to win trophies in two consecutive seasons and could offer him another chance to prove his worth with the Red Devils. Erik ten Hag saved at the bell? The idea has not yet been fully validated, but it has emerged in the minds of Manchester United leaders.