Erik ten Hag will remain Manchester United manager after the club’s end-of-season review resulted in the decision to keep the Dutchman – and he has agreed to stay at Old Trafford.
After a period of major uncertainty over Ten Hag’s future, United held talks with the 54-year-old on Tuesday and the preference of both parties was for his tenure to continue.
Ten Hag’s existing contract with United runs until next June, with an option to extend by 12 months, and they will now begin negotiations to extend those terms.
After winning the FA Cup last month, beating Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley Stadium, Athleticism reported that the club is to conduct a review of the 2023-24 campaign, including Ten Hag’s performance.
In case a change in the dugout had to be made, United had sounded out potential replacements including former Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, former Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi, Chelsea boss Recently departed Mauricio Pochettino, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank. and Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna.
But after a process led by United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford, the choice was made to move forward with Ten Hag.
The decision was made for Ten Hag to stay (Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)
The build-up to the FA Cup final was largely overshadowed by speculation over his position, with the manager subsequently admitting he “didn’t know” if it was his last game in charge, due to this which he described as “waste”. campaign.
United recorded their worst finishing position of the Premier League era (eighth) with a total of 60 points, only two better than their worst total since the competition began in 1992. Their goal difference of minus one was on the wrong side of zero for the first time. times in 34 years.
They also exited the Champions League at the group stage – finishing last in the group – and exited the EFL Cup in the fourth round before victory at Wembley allowed them to avoid missing out on European football altogether.
After INEOS’ minority investment in the club was confirmed in February, Ratcliffe stressed the importance of “walking towards the right solution, not running towards the wrong one”.
The new hierarchy of football operations has already brought a number of changes to the structure of football at Old Trafford, with Manchester City’s Omar Berrada due to arrive as the club’s new chief executive in July.
They are also expected to recruit Dan Ashworth from Newcastle United as their new sporting director, while they have recruited Jason Wilcox as the club’s technical director.
The FA Cup was a second trophy in as many seasons for Ten Hag since his appointment as United manager in 2022.
In his first season, Ten Hag finished third in the Premier League and won the EFL Cup, while United also reached the FA Cup final, where they were beaten by City.
“Two trophies in two years is not bad, three finals in two years is not bad,” he said. “If they don’t want me, then I’ll go somewhere else to win trophies because that’s what I do.”
GO FURTHER
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What the numbers say
By Duncan Alexander
2023-24 has been a record-breaking season for United under Ten Hag, but not for the reasons he wanted. An eighth-place finish is the lowest the club have finished since 1989-90, and it is also the first time United have finished a campaign with a negative goal difference since then. As a reminder, United’s average goal difference in their 21 Premier League campaigns under Sir Alex Ferguson was +44.
Most of the team’s problems were defensive. 58 goals conceded is the most in a league season since 1978-79, while only David Moyes’ West Ham and the three relegated teams have conceded more expected goals than United. They even managed to beat the Derby County team from 2007 to 2008 in shots conceded. In case you forgot, Derby only won one game that season and were relegated with a record total of 11 points.
United finished bottom of their Champions League group and their tally of 15 goals conceded is the most a Premier League team has ever scored at this stage of the competition.
GO FURTHER
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Ten Hag’s attack has also struggled on several occasions: a 2-0 defeat at West Ham in December was the first time the club had failed to score in four consecutive games in all competitions since 1992.
And yet, the records continued to come. In February, Fulham’s Alex Iwobi scored the last winning goal by an away team at Old Trafford in Premier League history, while in April United led in the 100th minute at Chelsea but when even managed to lose the match 4-3. They finished the season with nine defeats in all competitions at Old Trafford, something which had not happened since 1973-74 – the last season they were relegated from the top flight.
“A remarkable turnaround”
Analysis by Mark Critchley
As unlikely as it may seem on the morning of the FA Cup final, Ten Hag will still be in the Old Trafford dugout next season. This isn’t just down to United’s victory at Wembley, although that undoubtedly helped their cause.
United’s hierarchy spent their end-of-season review balancing that improbable victory against Manchester City and a second trophy in as many years against a largely miserable campaign, which ended with the club’s lowest finish in the Premier League era.
Ten Hag will now begin negotiations over a new contract (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
As bad as an eighth-place finish was after a Champions League group stage elimination, there were also mitigating factors in Ten Hag’s favor, including a torrid and relentless injury crisis that undoubtedly affected the results.
United have held discussions with several potential successors in case a change is deemed necessary, but now the only negotiations are over extending Ten Hag’s contract. This is a remarkable turnaround, one that even Ten Hag himself might have struggled to see happening just over a fortnight ago.
(Top photo: Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)