Man Utd: Ratcliffe’s Ten Hag sack plan emerges with ‘groomed’ manager ‘to replace’ the Dutchman
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly hatched a post-Erik ten Hag succession plan as he ‘grooms’ the Dutchman’s ‘replacement’.
Ten Hag was under immense pressure during the 2023/24 campaign as Man Utd endured a miserable campaign en route to finishing eighth in the Premier League.
Man Utd‘s season ended on a high as they beat arch-rivals Man City at Wembley as they won the FA Cup.
However, this was not expected to be enough for Ten Hag to keep his job as Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Gareth Southgate and Kieran McKenna were mooted as potential replacements earlier this summer.
After weeks of speculation, it emerged that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his recruitment team would be sticking with Ten Hag, who has penned a contract extension until 2026.
Despite this, Ten Hag has been told he’s the Premier League manager ‘under the most pressure’ ahead of the 2024/25 season and he likely requires a positive start to the campaign if he’s to remain in charge until next summer.
Man Utd didn’t sack Ten Hag, but there still have been major changes at Old Trafford in recent months. Sporting director Dan Ashworth, chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox have arrived, while they have spent around £150m on summer signings.
Changes have also been made to Ten Hag’s coaching staff as club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy has returned to Man Utd to become their assistant manager.
Several pundits claim Van Nistelrooy would be an “obvious replacement” for Ten Hag if it goes wrong and a report claims a plan is already in place for him to be Man Utd’s next manager.
Football Transfers are reporting Man Utd are ‘to replace’ Ten Hag with Van Nistelrooy and he ‘even turned down the opportunity’ to become their new boss in the summer.
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The report explains.
‘FootballTransfers has been told, however, that Van Nistelrooy was asked to replace the former Ajax boss and take full control of the Old Trafford side.
‘He knocked back this opportunity as he felt the pressure of the role would be “overwhelming”. Furthermore, he told the Man Utd board that he felt he could be more effective in a coaching capacity, which is how the two-year deal to become assistant came about.
‘FootballTransfers’ source, though, has revealed that Van Nistelrooy is being groomed as Ten Hag’s successor at the club.’
Jaap Stam is adamant that Ten Hag “needs to step up this season” if he’s to be successful at Man Utd.
“For Ten Hag, it’s his third season at United – I think he needs to go. I think it’s good he signed a new contract because he still needs that little bit of help,” Stam said.
“He needs to look at himself and how last season panned out, I don’t always agree with him in terms of him saying they played good football.
“I understand that as a manager you need to be positive about your players and help them out by taking some of the pressure away. That said, it’s also good to just be honest as a manager and say that your team played rubbish football.
“He needs to step up this season, there have been a lot of changes made at the club with the staff so I’m curious how it’s going to work out for them.”
