Manchester United sacked manager Erik ten Hag on Monday after a poor start to the season that has the 20-time English champions far from the top of the Premier League.
The Dutch manager won a pair of domestic cups in his two and a half years in charge, but led the team to its worst start to a season after losing four of its first nine league games, leaving it in 14th place.
Tough home defeats to bitter rivals Liverpool and Tottenham left Ten Hag in a difficult situation. The 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday proved to be his last game in charge.
United have only won one of their last eight games in all competitions.
“Erik ten Hag has stepped down as coach of Manchester United’s men’s first team,” United said, adding that Ruud van Nistelrooy, one of Ten Hag’s assistants and a former striker at the club, would take over as interim coach while a permanent coach is recruited.
Among his possible successors are Gareth Southgate, who until recently was the coach of the England team. Graham Potter and Xavi Hernández, previously coaches of Chelsea and Barcelona, respectively, also appear.
Ten Hag arrived from the Dutch giant Ajax, with the mission of returning glory to a club in decline since the legendary coach Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Despite winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup this year, United have shown no signs of improving on their worst league campaign in 34 years, finishing eighth last season.
Trailing 12 points behind the leader Manchester City in the Premier, United – which has not had a clear playing identity with Ten Hag and has often conceded late goals – does not seem to have the conditions to fight for the title and is in danger of staying another once out of the lucrative Champions League.
Ten Hag managed to survive in office after an unexpected victory against City in the FA Cup final in May, and after extensive analysis of his management. He agreed to extend his contract one more year until 2026.
However, the club’s new leadership — led by new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe — was unhappy with recent results under Ten Hag, who has orchestrated a £615 million ($800 million) spend on new players since his arrival. . In the Premier, Chelsea is the only team that has invested more in signings.
Ratcliffe, a British billionaire, has taken control of United’s football operations, appointing a new chief executive, sporting director and technical director in recent months. They will have to look for a sixth permanent coach since Ferguson’s departure, following in the footsteps of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag.
The unanimous decision by the club’s board to sack Erik Ten Hag further underlines a tumultuous time at Old Trafford, with the club sitting in a modest 14th place in the Premier League and struggling for identity. Via Graphic News
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