Monday, September 30, 2024

Man Utd boss Ten Hag ‘not thinking’ about losing job

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says he is “not thinking” about the club’s owners opting for a change of manager and claims they are “all on one page”.

The Old Trafford club were beaten 3-0 by Tottenham on Sunday, which left them 12th in the Premier League with seven points from their opening six league games.

United have already lost three top-flight games this season and their points tally is the club’s joint-fewest after six games of a Premier League season.

Asked whether he thought United’s hierarchy might think they need a different manager in charge after the defeat by Spurs, Ten Hag said: “I am not thinking about this.

“We all made the decision to stay together as ownership and a leadership group in the summer.

“We made the decision from after a clear review what we have to improve as an organisation and how we want to construct a squad.

“We knew it will take some time, because of how the [transfer] window went, some players late in like [Manuel] Ugarte, also we have to make some improvement in the organisation, we still have to deal with some injuries, also from some impact players.

“I think we will get better there. We need some time. We are all on one page or in one boat together, the ownership, the leadership group, the staff and the players’ group as well. I don’t have that concern.”

United finished eighth last season in their worst top-flight finish since 1990 but they beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final and a post-season review – conducted by a new football structure put in place by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – determined Ten Hag would keep a job he started in 2022.

Chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth were not part of the review as they were not in their roles at the time but, prior to a 3-0 league defeat by Liverpool at Old Trafford on 1 September, Berrada said Ten Hag had “our full backing”.

United went behind after three minutes against Spurs when Brennan Johnson scored and and captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off just before half-time.

Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke added to Tottenham’s lead as many home fans left Old Trafford before the final whistle.

United travel to Porto in the Europa League on Thursday and then are at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday prior to the international break.

“Of course [we can bounce back]. There is always a new game, it will be a new day. It is obvious you have to learn as a team,” said Ten Hag.

“It can’t happen twice in four days a defender can dribble through the whole team twice. You can’t make such mistakes in top football. But we will bounce back.”

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