Man Utd stars ‘failed to back Erik ten Hag just moments after winning the FA Cup’ with ‘clear issues among squad’
MANCHESTER UNITED stars were not in full support of Erik ten Hag even after their FA Cup final victory, reports suggest.
Pressure is mounting on Ten Hag following a poor start to the season that has seen the Red Devils win just three of their first eight games in all competitions.
The latest defeat, a 3-0 drubbing at home to Tottenham, was the latest evidence of a team flat on its back.
It follows a continuously concerning trend stretching back to last season, when the team recorded the club’s lowest finish in Premier League history.
Winning the FA Cup ultimately proved to be Ten Hag’s salvation from almost certainly being sacked in June, with new club bosses Ineos instead opting to keep faith with the Dutchman for the new season.
However, it has now been revealed that United players had their issues with the former Ajax manager’s set-up even in the aftermath of that famous triumph over Man City at Wembley.
According to The Athletic, who claim to have spoken to half a dozen players following the final, some stars had issues with the approach in certain matches throughout the season.
While the report stipulated that no player definitively called for the manager to be sacked, no star definitively backed him to stay either.
Players had a critical opinion of some of the tactics used during the season – ultimately with a change of approach in the Wembley final against Manchester City proving beneficial.
It quotes one anonymous player as saying: “You cannot have teams in the relegation zone like Sheffield United and Burnley coming to Old Trafford and carving us open.”
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Reporter Andy Mitten adds that following the final, while “all the players respected Ten Hag as a person and coach, the mood was far from harmonious”.
Though he caveats this by explaining how stars both respected and feared Sir Alex Ferguson.
SunSport today reported that Ten Hag’s potential exit is being discussed openly by Manchester United players.
We understand the vast majority of United’s stars are behind the beleaguered manager.
But there has been much talk among the squad over how much longer he will remain in charge with the club floundering in the Prem.
Games this week against Porto and Aston Villa could prove pivotal in deciding whether he remains in the job after the international break.
Ineos – who now run the sporting operation at the club – handed Ten Hag a contract extension in July.
It would have reportedly cost £10million to sack Ten Hag in the summer, but will now set them back £17.5m.
A number of managers have been linked with the Old Trafford gig in the event that Ten Hag is sacked, with Joe Cole believing that former England boss Gareth Southgate is the “obvious choice” to step in.
Elsewhere, ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter and Inter Milan gaffer Simone Inzaghi have both emerged as potential candidates.
Assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy could also be appointed to the role given his previous, albeit brief, success with PSV.
Why NOBODY is the right man to replace Erik ten Hag at Man Utd
SunSport's DAVE KIDD says Erik ten Hag's time at Man Utd is up… and explains what's wrong with all the potential candidates to replace him.
THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.
Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
Emery may well deliver the coup de grace to Ten Hag on Sunday — especially with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an injury doubt.
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would be a popular and gettable option but, despite being a fine coach and a very engaging man, he is considered something of a loose cannon.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.