Chronicle Editor
Ben Willcocks
Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Manchester United after a miserable start to the season, with the Red Devils languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.
The Dutchman, who had his contract extended through to 2026 in July, is likely to pocket a significant compensation package after being axed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos just three months into the new campaign.
Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy will take over at Old Trafford on an interim basis, while Brentford’s Thomas Frank, Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, Borussia Dortmund‘s Edin Terzic and ex-Barcelona boss Xavi have been linked with the role permanently.
Thomas Tuchel, who United considered in the summer, has since been named Gareth Southgate’s successor by the Football Association and will take charge of England from January.
Manchester United confirmed the news in a statement on Monday, which read: ‘Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.
Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Manchester United after a disappointing start to the season
Man United suffered their fourth league defeat of the season against West Ham on Sunday
Ex-Man United star Ruud van Nistelrooy (left) has taken over from Ten Hag on an interim basis
Edin Terzic (left) and Thomas Frank (right) are among those linked with the permanent role
‘Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
‘We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.
‘Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.’
Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against West Ham proved the final straw for Manchester United’s chiefs, with the club now three wins, two draws and four losses from their opening nine games of the season.
Casemiro thought he had at least rescued a point at the London Stadium when he equalised in the 81st minute to cancel out Crysencio Summerville’s strike, but Jarrod Bowen‘s controversial stoppage-time penalty consigned Ten Hag to yet another disappointing defeat.
Significant pressure had mounted on Ten Hag ahead of the second international break of the season in October, prompting Manchester United to hold an executive meeting in London, led by Ratcliffe.
The senior leadership team opted to stick by the Dutchman, while also choosing to ‘sack’ legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson from his £2.61million ambassadorial role at the club.
Ten Hag joined the club in the summer of 2022 and has since won two trophies at Old Trafford — the Carabao Cup during his debut season and FA Cup at the close of last campaign.
However, Manchester United’s league form worsened significantly over the course of Ten Hag’s reign, with the club finishing eighth last season and currently languishing in the bottom half of the table so far this term.
Ten Hag had kept his job at the end of last season thanks to their FA Cup final win over Manchester City, despite leading the club to their lowest finish in the Premier League era and being knocked out of the group stage in the Champions League.
Ratcliffe had been non-committal over Ten Hag’s future in early October, insisting he did not have the final say over the Dutchman’s fate.
Ten Hag was irate with the officials after a controversial late penalty was awarded to West Ham
Ten Hag claims he ‘doesn’t have that concern’ for his job safety
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe and United’s senior leaders met in London earlier this month to discuss Ten Hag’s future and decided to stick by the Dutchman despite a dismal start to the new season
‘I don’t want to answer that question,’ he told the BBC when asked if he had faith in the manager.
‘I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.’
’That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.
‘They’ve only been there… you can count it in weeks almost – they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.
‘Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.’
Prior to Sunday’s defeat by West Ham, Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund had inspired the Red Devils to a comeback victory over Brentford the weekend before, but the draw in Turkey hindered United from building momentum and subsequently led to the decisive defeat at West Ham.
United’s FA Cup victory was seen as the reason Ten Hag kept his job, despite guiding the Red Devils to their worst finish of the Premier League era and early elimination in Europe
Manchester United are still seeking the manager who can bring them back to their glory days following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement from management at the end of the 2012-13 season
United will be eager to find the right appointment to succeed Ten Hag after failing to win the Premier League title over the last 11 years.
Ten Hag joins David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick as managers who have failed to restore Manchester United to their trophy-laden years under Sir Alex Ferguson.
He leaves behind him a host of new signings, with United recruiting Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte over the summer window.
Source: Dailymail
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