Following Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Erik ten Hag remains defiant amid growing pressure. With just seven points from the first six games, the manager faces increased scrutiny but insists he has the backing of the club’s owners. Ten Hag urges patience, stating that rebuilding takes time. Will his leadership survive the ongoing challenges at Old Trafford, or will the players and the fans completely turn against him?
After
Tottenham’s 3-0 victory over his team at Old Trafford on Sunday,
Erik ten Hag dismissed any worries about possibly being fired by Manchester United. The Dutchman is confident he will stay as Manchester United’s manager no matter what happens. The Red Devils are currently in 12th place with just seven points from the first six games and a goal difference of minus one, leading to some very unconvincing displays that have made the fans impatient.
After a second 3-0 thrashing at Old Trafford from a club that is supposed to fight United for a UEFA Champions League spot, Ten Hag was questioned about the possibility of the executives, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, determining that a change of manager is necessary, to which he replied, “I am not thinking about this.” He added, “We all made in the summer the decision to stay together as an ownership, a leadership group. Also, we made the decision based on a clear review of what we have to improve and how we want to construct a squad. But we knew it will take some time, how the window went, some players late in like
Manuel Ugarte. Also we have to make some improvement in [the overarching] organization, we still have some injuries, we need some time. We are all on one page or in one boat together: the ownership, the staff, and the players as well. I don’t have that concern.”
After stating for the most part of last season in every press conference that half of his squad was injured, it is very difficult to perform consistently in a condition like this. At the moment, only
Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw are injured and sidelined. Which means the Dutchman has a full squad to operate with, many beginning to feel that has he lost control of the players now? to which he replied: Yes I am but it is clear and obvious when you concede a goal like this again, it shouldn’t happen and especially when we address it so loud and clear [after Twente].”
The outrage following Manchester United’s dreadful start to the season can be heard from both the fans, pundits and ex-Manchester United players. Former United captain and current
Sky sports pundit, Gary Neville, criticized the performance. “It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half,” he said. “There will be a lot of questions to answer for that group [of players] and the manager in the next week. The pressure is going to get ramped up, it is going to be brutal.”
