ERIK TEN HAG has warned Manchester United could be relegated after slipping to 17th in the table.
Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Michael Carrick‘s side on Saturday saw them slip to a ninth game without a win, and left them teetering perilously over the relegation zone.
Relegation is not something that would usually be in the thoughts of Man Utd chiefs and fans, but Ten Hag, who won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup with the club, has warned it is a very real possibility. e also warned the club about a “vicious circle” they can be caught in, and based on the evidence of this season they have already fallen foul of it.
Speaking to ESPN NL’s Goedemorgen Eredivisie, the Dutchman said: “In the Premier League it’s certainly possible, because all the teams are simply strong.
“They’re all strong squads, all good managers.
“And if you end up on the wrong side once and you really get into that vicious circle — yes, then it can become very, very difficult.”
United could have dropped into the bottom three over the weekend, but Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland all failed to win to go ahead of the Red Devils.
Carrick has reportedly been given until at least the international break to turn results around, but the dismal defeat in London wasn’t the best start to repaying that blind faith.
United have failed to win any of their first seven away games in all competitions for the first time since 1973-74, a season they were relegated.
Ten Hag is now technical director of Dutch club FC Twente. Club chiefs claim they are hamstrung by past mistakes in the transfer market, with much of that likely coming from Ten Hag insisting on recruiting poor players for big money.
Regardless, Ten Hag reflects on his time at Old Trafford with positivity.
He said: “I think we performed pretty well with United. I think we had performed more than pretty well.
“We couldn’t have done it better.
“Before we arrived, six years without winning a trophy. Look where they are now. We were at Wembley six times, we played two FA Cup finals. We won two trophies, we finished third.
“And yes, we simply performed pretty well. And at times we also played pretty good football.
“We also had a difficult spell… But the Premier League is so strong and when you hit a difficult spell, yes, then you really have a problem.”
United host Roma in the Champions League today before Aston Villa also pay them a visit back in the Prem. The clash against in-form Villa is the final game before the international break, and could therefore be Carrick’s swansong, particularly if United lose and end up in the relegation zone.
In the likely event Carrick is sacked, former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he would not say no to returning if asked, but backed his former assistant to turn around the situation —Sun.
