David Moyes has come to the defence of under-fire Erik ten Hag, having been in a similar situation as Manchester United manager.
The experienced Scot oversaw a tumultuous time as the Red Devils boss and perhaps had it harder than any of the ones that followed him, as he took the reins after Sir Alex Ferguson.
Poor results and style of play saw the Old Trafford faithful eventually give up hope and call for Moyes’ sacking, with him being subsequently replaced (permanently) by Louis van Gaal. Now, he’s flying high with West Ham United and even guided the side to European glory by winning the Europa Conference League last term.
For Ten Hag, he’s just at the beginning of trying to tame the storm in M16. He’ll be hoping to drastically turn things around in the coming weeks before it’s too far gone and he becomes another name added to the list of sacked United managers, with recent reports already suggesting that he may not see out the season in the dugout.
Moyes talks Ten Hag
Moyes was quick to rally behind him, though, and said (via The Mirror): “As long as he continues to get good support from the board, which it sounds like he has, it’s only speculation from other people. If you’re Manchester United you have to win games, that’s part of the job.
“It wouldn’t need me to tell anybody that. But it sounds like he’s getting great support from their board and if you’ve got that you’ve got a great chance of improving results, which gives you more time. Let’s see what happens.”
Moyes also agreed with a comment made by Reds legend Wayne Rooney on how it’s always the managers who receive grief over a team’s performances rather than those on the pitch.
“It’s always been directed at managers. That’s why most of the time you talk about managers losing their jobs, not players losing their jobs. It’s part of the job,” Moyes added. “Ultimately if you manage Manchester United, it’s a pressure job and you’re expected to win with a really good style. Erik ten Hag has done a lot of really good things.”
