Man Utd ‘not going to get rid’ of Ten Hag as Red Devils are told they’d be ‘crazy’ to sack him
Man Utd are “not going to get rid of” Erik ten Hag “this early in the season” despite claims he could only have four games to save his job at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils had a promising first season under Ten Hag with the Dutchman leading them to an FA Cup final, League Cup silverware and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
However, their performance in the Premier League last term was very poor as they finished eighth, their lowest finish since the competition began in 1992, but Ten Hag clung on to his job by unexpectedly winning the FA Cup final against arch-rivals Man City at Wembley.
There is also a theory that Man Utd could not find a suitable candidate to replace Ten Hag in the summer and so they chose to keep faith in the Dutchman in the summer.
But this term has started in similar vein to the end of last season with Man Utd winning one and losing two of their first three matches in the Premier League.
Their 3-0 loss at Old Trafford to Liverpool last weekend sent alarm bells ringing among some supporters with pressure already building on Ten Hag.
There have been some rumours that Ten Hag will be given their next four Premier League fixtures against Southampton, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Aston Villa to prove he can bring success and a change of style at Man Utd.
But former CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs insists that it remains unlikely that Man Utd will see a change of manager so early in the campaign.
Jacobs told GiveMeSport: “Right now, all parties, Ten Hag included, feel like patience is needed. This is a transitional period, and the success of the new model and Ten Hag’s fit within it is not going to be apparent within one summer or a few games into a new season. It’s going to take time.
“Leny Yoro got injured, Ugarte hasn’t played yet. Zirkzee, I think, has only started one Premier League game. Luckily for Ten Hag, Mazraoui and De Ligt he knows very well. It’s a building process that nobody thinks is going to happen overnight.
“At least if Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth’s public comments are to be believed, having taken a long time to back Ten Hag, they’re not going to get rid of him this early in the season, so he’s safe for now.”
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And former Man Utd midfielder Nicky Butt insists that the Red Devils would be “crazy” to sack Ten Hag without a top candidate to come in and replace him.
Butt told the Manchester Evening News: “There’s no point sacking somebody if there’s nobody to come in.
“Clubs all over the world do it, I think it’s crazy.”
The 1999 Treble winner at Old Trafford added: “They sack a manager because it’s not going well and they don’t have any reasonable targets coming in, then they bring another wrong one in and it’s a knock-on effect.
“For me, I’d give him time to get it right. It’s just the start of the season, we’ve only played three or four games and you’ve got to stand by him.
“If they don’t do that, they just should have let go of him in the post-season.”
Butt thinks Man Utd are currently “way off” winning the Premier League title and insists the supporters must be patient as INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe look to turn their fortunes around.
Butt continued: “It’ll take time, you can’t really judge him right now.
“One thing is for certain, the team has got to improve. I think everyone would say that openly.
“They’re a long way off winning the title but what Ratcliffe has done is put experts in the right positions and hopefully you’ll see the fruition of that in the next few years.”
