Senior figures at Manchester United are now believed to be unhappy with manager Erik ten Hag for one specific reason, according to a new claim.
Ten Hag feeling the heat at Man Utd
Last weekend’s 0-0 draw away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League hasn’t done much to take the pressure off the shoulders of the Dutchman, whose future continues to be under the microscope on a weekly basis.
In fairness to Ten Hag, United actually played well for chunks of the game at Selhurst Park, having more of the ball than the Eagles and creating enough opportunities to pick up all three points.
The bottom line is that the Red Devils failed to win for a third time in five league outings this season, however, and their current 11th-place ranking is nowhere near good enough, in terms of wanting to get back into the Champions League. Granted, it is still very early days, but the table is already taking shape and Ten Hag’s men don’t want to start losing further ground on their rivals.
A recent report has claimed that the 54-year-old is safe currently, with the likes of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox all happy to give him more time. Replacements for him have still been mooted, however, including Max Allegri and Simone Inzaghi, with the latter inspiring Inter Milan to Serie A title glory last season.
Senior Man Utd figures unhappy with Ten Hag
According to Give Me Sport, senior Manchester United figures are unhappy about the lack of goals on show under Ten Hag currently, with further unrest on show at Old Trafford.
The report states that “patience is beginning to wear thin” with the Red Devils’ profligacy in front of goal, even though they have largely been performing well in a defensive sense. Only five league goals have been scored in as many games, three of which came in one game away to newly-promoted Southampton.
For all the reports claiming Ten Hag isn’t under genuine threat of being sacked currently, it does feel as though there is still plenty of speculation over his future, which is going to be extremely hard for him to change.
The former Ajax boss deserves undoubted credit for winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup in his first two seasons at Old Trafford, not least because he beat Manchester City in the final of the latter last term, but the negatives still arguably outweigh the positives under him.
Despite some fans possibly having high hopes of a genuine top-four push in 2024/25, United are already in the bottom half of the table, and it is still hard to identify a genuine playing style, with performances often requiring moments of individual brilliance, rather than grinding down teams in the way City, Liverpool and Arsenal do.
Sunday’s home clash with Tottenham feels like a big afternoon for Ten Hag, and defeat against their rivals could crank up the pressure on him. That being said, a convincing win may ease the level of scrutiny, so he needs his attackers to step up, with no player scoring more than once in the Premier League yet this season.
