Should Manchester United’s season continue on this tumultuous trajectory in the coming weeks, you’d struggle to see how Erik ten Hag will be at the reins come 2025.
After dropping points in back-to-back matches thanks to two dreary draws, United sit 11th-placed in the Premier League table and 10th in the new-look Europa League rankings.
Factoring in the affairs of last season, one which saw Ten Hag narrowly avoid the sack in the summer, the club have won one in their last nine European matches while registering just six wins in their last 19 league games.
Yet, the FA Cup triumph over Manchester City in May convinced INEOS chiefs to stick with the Dutchman for the foreseeable future. Frequently spotted in attendance at fixtures since his arrival, you can only wonder when Sir Jim Ratcliffe will start to rue the decision when witnessing the substandard showings from the stands.
Ten Hag’s guise reminiscent of last season
Simon Stone of BBC Sport weighed in on last night’s Europa League opener, stating that Ten Hag cut a ‘worryingly familiar’ figure as he walked around Old Trafford to applaud the fans after full-time.
He adds: “There was a defence of his players to the media, even though he agreed with goalscorer Christian Eriksen that his old club had ‘wanted it more’. Ten Hag denied it, but the same claims have been made at periods throughout his tenure. It hints at a mental issue that is simply not being solved.
“When INEOS opted to stick with Ten Hag in the aftermath of last season’s eighth-placed finish, they did so largely because it was felt the structures were not in place that would allow the former Ajax boss to succeed.
“The structures are now there, but there is no obvious change.”
