Manchester United reportedly have no plans to sack manager Erik ten Hag despite Sunday’s harrowing 3-0 defeat to Liverpool. The defeat leaves United 14th in the Premier League with just three points from their opening three games, with the pressure already piling on the Dutchman.
Ten Hag had been widely expected to leave this role at the end of 2023/24 campaign, only for the club to trigger a one-year clause in his contract, extending his deal until 2026.
That followed United’s surprise win over neighbours Manchester City in the FA Cup final, but Ten Hag himself has admitted the club did hold talks with Thomas Tuchel before deciding to stick with him.
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And Express Sport understands the 54-year-old will be given time to address his side’s poor form. Having spent more than £175million on new players this summer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co are seemingly prepared to stay patient and give the new look squad time to gel.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford, new United CEO Omar Berrada insisted the decision to keep Ten Hag on this summer had been the right one. “As I said before, we're very happy with that decision,” he said.
“Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together in this transfer window. We're going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team.”
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Sporting director Dan Ashworth was also emphatic with his backing for the ex-Ajax man. “All I can do is reiterate what I remember saying, which is I've really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks,” he said.
“I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can, whether that's operationally, whether that's with recruitment, whether that's with medical, whether that's with psychology, whether that's training ground flow. It's just to take as much of that off him, to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
Ten Hag has landed two major trophies since arriving in 2022, with the Wembley win in May following his League Cup success in his first year in charge. But United finished eighth in the top-flight last season, and suffered a club record 14 Premier League defeats.
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After being booed off against Liverpool, United next go to Southampton on September 14. The Saints are yet to earn a point this season, and defeat at St Mary’s will only serve to further ramp up speculation on Ten Hag’s future.
The manager has regularly been defiant when questioned about his position, and after his side’s latest loss argued his team were still getting used to new personnel. “It is not like I am Harry Potter," he said. "You have to acknowledge that. For three players it was their first start of the season.”
