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18 Over the summer, Erik ten Hag bid farewell to close associate Benni McCarthy, who opted to leave his role as Manchester United’s first-team striker coach upon the expiration of his contract.
The final game that he oversaw with the Reds was, of course, the FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City. But things have embarked on something of a downward trajectory since that emphatic day at Wembley in May.
Erik ten Hag, now working with new staff Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake, is widely thought to be on the brink of losing his job, just three months after INEOS affirmed their faith in him to continue at the helm long-term.
He was awarded a two-year contract extension in July before being granted another £200 million+ in signings of his choosing in the transfer window; the Dutchman had again opted to call upon familiar faces in the form of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, who’ve joined the ex-Ajax cohort at Old Trafford along with Antony, Andre Onana and Lisandro Martinez.
Reports had suggested that, when conducting their end-of-season assessment, INEOS chiefs did hold talks with a handful of potential successors for the managerial role. These included Mauricio Pochettino, who has since taken charge of the United States national team, Thomas Frank and Thomas Tuchel, the latter of which is currently in talks to become England’s new head coach.
McCarthy: You’d struggle to find a suitable Ten Hag replacement
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images )Yet, McCarthy is firm in the stance that there’s only one manager out there who’d be successful in the Old Trafford hot-seat – and he’s certainly not a viable option.
“People are always looking for answers like replacing the coach, but who is better than what they have?” McCarthy questioned when speaking with SuperSport. “Unless Pep [Guradiola] decides to change from Man City to go to United, then maybe you will have a change in fortunes, but other than that, mate, I can’t see if there’s better than Ten Hag, man.”
