Erik Ten Hag ‘Safe at Man Utd’ Until International Break

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not expected to be sacked before the international break, GIVEMESPORT understands. The Red Devils’ hierarchy are intent on giving the 54-year-old Dutchman the upcoming games against Porto and Aston Villa.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new-look sporting department don’t want to make a knee-jerk reaction following a poor 3-0 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Defeat at Old Trafford left Manchester United sitting 12th in the Premier League, but Ten Hag said after the game he was not concerned about losing his job.

“I am not thinking about this,” said Ten Hag. “We all made this decision to stay together, as an ownership, and a leadership group in the summer. We also made the decision from a clear [summer] review what we have to improve and how we want to construct a squad.

“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 [about being sacked].”

New chief executive officer Omar Berrada already publicly backed Ten Hag at the start of the month and, for now, his position reflects that of Manchester United’s leadership team.

“Erik has our full backing,” said Berrada in early September. “We have worked very closely together in this transfer window. We are going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team. Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we are fully backing him.”

Ten Hag Facing Crucial Week at Old Trafford

Dutchman set to remain in charge for Porto and Aston Villa clashes

Manchester United were the third-biggest spenders in Europe over the summer. Leny Yoro (£59m, Lille), Manuel Ugarte (£51m, Paris Saint-Germain), Matthijs de Ligt (£43m, Bayern Munich), Joshua Zirkzee (£36.5m, Bologna), Noussair Mazraoui (£15m, Bayern Munich) and Sekou Kone (£1m, Guidars) have all arrived with Ten Hag a driving force behind many of the deals.

Along with waiting for some of the new faces to click, the Red Devils’ patience so far this season is also down to the fact, as Ten Hag alluded to, a meticulous season-end review only took place over the summer.

In the same way that Manchester United wanted to dispassionately judge Ten Hag following the FA Cup final win over Manchester City at Wembley in May, club executives don’t want to react to Sunday’s demoralising result in the 24 or 48 hours that follow, especially knowing the international break provides a natural and calmer period for reflection. It leaves Ten Hag facing an important week with away trips to Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

The stats this season don’t make pleasant reading. The Red Devils are off to their joint-worst start to a Premier League season with only seven points, having also finished a club-low eighth last season. They have also only managed one goal at Old Trafford in the Premier League and have been comfortably beaten 3-0 at home by both Tottenham and Liverpool.

Although not a Ten Hag-specific stat, Manchester United have now lost more Premier League games by three or more goals (23 in 424 matches) since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 than they did in 1,035 league fixtures under him (22). Tottenham had an expected-goals ratio of 4.67 last weekend, and their hosts have never faced a higher number in a Premier League match.

No player has more than one Premier League goal and 17 big chances have been spurned. The 0-0 draw away at Crystal Palace, in which Ten Hag’s side missed countless chances, sums up the wastefulness in front of goal this campaign.

Manchester United’s hierarchy are nonetheless calm about the situation. This is partly because succession planning has already taken place during the initial review into Ten Hag’s future over the summer.

Plus, after deciding to keep him, the Red Devils didn’t offer Ten Hag a new long-term deal, with all parties instead opting to extend his contract by a year – an option built into his existing terms. It could still prove expensive to part ways with Ten Hag, but it will be cheaper compared to if a new contract was agreed.

Ten Hag currently retains a veto on transfers, but any new boss would not be handed such a formal recruitment say. Manchester United instead wish to move to a collaborative model where the head coach is a key voice but does not have guaranteed or written autonomy.

Succession planning is not an indication a change will definitely happen. Well-run clubs always tend to look at options when a manager is under pressure, in demand, or just has less than two years left on their contract, even when the preference is for a coach to simply stay and succeed.

Southgate and Potter Likely to be Candidates

Howe considered in summer as potential fresh option in dugout

INEOS are known admirers of Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter, and both would likely be candidates should a change be made. INEOS has tried in the past to bring Potter to Nice. Potter has been paid by Chelsea through September as part of his settlement and has admitted he is ready to get back into management after leaving Stamford Bridge in April 2023 and not working since.

“It still has to be the right thing, but I’m excited [to return],” Potter told The Telegraph.​​​​​​ “I’m excited to hear what the opportunities are, and I’ll take each one and judge it on its merits.”

Eddie Howe, who is under consideration for the England job, is another name who Manchester United discussed over the summer. But it’s unlikely Thomas Tuchel would be a frontrunner, even though the German would welcome a fresh approach. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not expected to be offered a return, despite stating last week he would be open to it.

“If the family [Manchester United] asks, I would say yes every day of the week,” Solskjaer said at the Oslo Business Forum. “It feels wrong to talk about jobs that other people have now, but I would say yes, of course.”

Ten Hag’s assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently high among the bookies’ favourites should Ten Hag depart, but GIVEMESPORT understands Manchester United would look for a more experienced coach, even knowing the ex-Red Devils striker might prove a popular choice with many fans.

Ratcliffe Poised to Oversee Informal Review

Ten Hag, coaching staff and squad to hold discussions

At this stage, it’s premature to be reading too much into potential Ten Hag replacements because many of the linked names, although genuine contenders, were approached before Manchester United decided to stick with the Dutchman.

The Red Devils would still like to make it work with Ten Hag, since getting rid of him this early in the campaign would in many ways undermine the end of season review, and reflect poorly on the club executives who conducted it.

That’s not to say Ratcliffe and his team won’t be cut-throat or go against their summer conclusions if needs must, but before they get to that point, there will be a new informal review in the coming days and weeks in which Ten Hag, his staff and players will be both spoken and listened to.

Ratcliffe likes these kinds of big decisions to be two-way, but there is no doubt he’ll also stress, as will Berrada, the start hasn’t been good enough in the hope of getting an instant response in the next two games.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt