A new update has emerged regarding Erik ten Hag‘s future as Manchester United manager, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s involvement revealed.
Ten Hag under pressure at Man Utd
Ten Hag has already found himself under a lot of pressure this season, even though the new Premier League campaign is still only five matches old. A last-gasp 2-1 defeat away to Brighton last month was a bad day at the office, but the 3-0 defeat at home to rivals Liverpool saw the Red Devils completely outplayed at Old Trafford.
For that reason, there have been some who have once again doubted whether the Dutchman is the right man to take United forward, with performances and results continuing to be hit-and-miss, as has too often been the case since he arrived at the club in the summer of 2022.
On Saturday evening, the Red Devils made a potentially tough trip to Crystal Palace in the league, and could only battle their way to a 0-0 draw, despite arguably being the better team at Selhurst Park. Chances came and went for both sides, but a lack of top-quality finishing was on show.
The bottom line is that it was still points dropped by United, even though the display was good in parts, and they are now 11th in the table, which is not what supporters were dreaming of when the season got underway.
Key update over Ten Hag’s Man Utd future
According to a fresh update from Football Insider, there are four big figures who will decide Ten Hag’s fate as Manchester United manager, one of which is part-owner Ratcliffe, who has had a hands-on approach since owning a 27.7% stake in his boyhood club earlier this year.
Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox are also going to be a big part of the decision, as they continue to weigh up if the 54-year-old is the right man to take the Red Devils into the future and take them back to the top of the English game.
That being said, the report does say that the quartet “will not rush into any rash calls and are willing to allow the boss more time to get results out of his team”, suggesting that Ten Hag’s job is safe for the time being.
There was enough in United’s performance at Palace to suggest that the former Ajax manager is worth persevering with for now, with new signings Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt looking the part in defence, helping keep a clean sheet in the process.
The visitors had 67% of possession against an Eagles side tipped to do well this season, as well as creating five big chances compared to their opponents’ tally of three. New signing Manuel Ugarte still has to come into the team as well, which should add more legs to the midfield, so there are reasons for an element of positivity, but big improvements are still needed, especially in terms of consistency week in, week out.
It is understandable why some would feel that Ten Hag can be improved upon, but it is refreshing to see Ratcliffe and others not rushing into a decision, given the impatient nature of modern football.
