Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag allegedly still has support from the senior players in the dressing room at Old Trafford.
Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag reportedly still has support from the senior players in the dressing room at Old Trafford, with the Dutchman being backed to turn the club’s form around.
Ten Hag was heavily linked with a departure towards the end of last season, but the 2-1 success over Manchester City in the FA Cup final played a leading role in him keeping his job at the helm.
There are again question marks surrounding the 54-year-old, though, with Man United having an underwhelming start to the 2024-25 campaign, winning just three of their nine games in all competitions.
The Red Devils suffered a 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday, and they are currently 13th in the table, already six points off the top four.
Ten Hag will remain in charge for the team’s next two games against Porto and Aston Villa, but defeats in both could lead to him being relieved of his duties ahead of the October international break.
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Ten Hag ‘has the support’ of senior Man United players
According to The Telegraph, despite the issues this season, the senior players at Old Trafford are still backing their manager and believe that he is capable of turning the form around.
The Red Devils will be aiming to secure their first Champions League victory of the 2024-25 competition when they take on Portuguese giants Porto on Thursday night.
The team then face a difficult trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League, before returning to action at home to Brentford after the international break, and it remains to be seen whether Ten Hag is in charge for that contest.
According to The Sun, Ten Hag’s sacking is being ‘openly discussed’ by players at Man United, but the ‘vast majority’ of the players still have full faith in the ex-Ajax head coach.
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Will Ten Hag keep his job at Man United?
As expected, there was not a knee-jerk reaction to the Tottenham defeat, even though the performance was also incredibly worrying, but Ten Hag is entering a crunch few days when it comes to his job.
There simply has to be an improvement against Porto in the Champions League on Thursday, and then the team have to find a way of picking up a positive result against a quality Villa outfit this weekend.
Two strong results would see Ten Hag keep his job and leave the supporters feeling more confident about the future, but two more defeats would almost certainly see him removed from his position.
If that does happen, then it is highly likely that assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy would be placed in charge on an interim basis, while senior figures at the club decide how to move forward.