Stick or sack? Erik ten Hag's Manchester United future decided as Sir Jim Ratcliffe faces huge call
07.03.2024 - 14:59
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is by no means a certainty to be in the Old Trafford dugout next season amid lingering question marks over his future. Speculation around the Dutchman is mounting and The Manchester Evening News understands INEOS are mulling over potential candidates to replace him.
However, a final decision - one way or another - has not yet been made. United have struggled this season with a top-four finish looking increasingly difficult after defeat in the Manchester derby.
Ten Hag guided United back into the Champions League during his first 12 months at the helm and also ended the club's six-year trophy hoodoo. In the midst of investment from Sir Jim Ratcliffe being finalised, though, things have not gone to plan on the pitch as our panel weighs up what should happen in the Old Trafford hot seat.
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First and foremost, I'm a firm believer of managers being given time. You could argue Ten Hag has had that as he approaches the end of a second full season in charge. However, he has spent the bulk of it working beneath an incompetent structure, where the likes of Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal have also failed. Now that INEOS are at the helm of football operations, a change in direction is in the offing. Ten Hag deserves the chance to work with Ratcliffe and co. to try and take the club forward.
INEOS could, naturally, choose their own man, which they would be within their rights to, but Ten Hag deserves another season to prove his worth. United made some progress last term, but their regression this campaign has coincided with an unprecedented injury crisis that any