Erik ten Hag to remain as Man Utd manager

ManchesterWorld

Michael Plant gives the latest on Erik ten Hag's situation following confirmation that he is to retain his position as Manchester United manager.

Transcript

00:00 So, it has finally been confirmed that Eric Ten Hag will stay as Manchester United manager.

00:05 Confirmation came on Tuesday night that the Dutchman won't be losing his job after the

00:09 end of what was quite a difficult season for Manchester United. But ultimately, that FA

00:13 Cup triumph against Manchester City, I think proved to be quite a significant factor in

00:18 Ineos' decision to stick with Ten Hag after that lengthy two-week internal review into

00:25 his position and several club matters. Now, I think a lot of fans believe that that review

00:30 really did take quite a long time, but United, from their perspective, pointed to the fact

00:34 that this is the first real, proper review that Ineos have had since they took charge.

00:40 I think a good way to describe it is perhaps they've had plenty of peaks under the bonnet,

00:43 but this was the first MOT in service, I suppose, of the Ineos regime. So, it was always going

00:48 to take its time, at least that's what United insist from their perspective, and they have

00:52 ultimately, as I say, decided to stick with Ten Hag. And it will mean a slight change

00:58 of job for him. Well, not necessarily job, but some of his roles in that job. And I think

01:02 that he's certainly going to have less involvement in transfers. Ten Hag has actually been pivotal

01:07 in United's transfer policy. Quite unusual for a Premier League manager to have such

01:11 a big influence, but he has played such a big role. Obviously, a number of Dutch players

01:14 coming in since he's taken charge, a number of players who have got experience playing

01:18 in the Eredivisie. Ineos are going to move away a little bit from that, move Ten Hag

01:22 towards slightly more of a head coach role than a manager, and they are going to take

01:27 a little bit more of the emphasis and control over transfers. But not only is Ten Hag going

01:33 to remain as Manchester United manager, there are talks, well he is in talks about potentially

01:38 signing a new contract with the club. That is despite United actually reaching out to

01:42 several managers over the last couple of weeks, the likes of Thomas Tuchel, Pochettino, De

01:47 Zerbe, Kieran McKenna have all been contacted. Gareth Southgate is a manager that I believe

01:52 they still retain a lot of interest in, and I think that going into the season that could

01:56 be a particularly interesting position to keep an eye on, particularly the fact that

02:01 Southgate isn't actually available now due to his commitments to England. But in terms

02:06 of the factors that ultimately led to Ten Hag remaining in his position, well I mentioned

02:11 the FA Cup triumph, that was definitely a big factor in Ineos' decision, and the fact

02:16 that despite the league issues, United have now won two trophies in two years, and when

02:20 you consider they've gone nearly six years without winning silverware before Ten Hag's

02:24 arrival, it is quite an achievement. I think there's a feeling as well from a United perspective

02:28 that Ten Hag handled himself well with a lot of grace and dignity in very difficult circumstances,

02:32 you have to say. And I think Ineos also believes that Ten Hag deserves a chance to show what

02:37 he's capable of under this Ineos regime, because he's had to deal with a lot of stuff, Ten

02:43 Hag since he came in, and the uncertainty surrounding his position and just the general

02:47 ownership of Manchester United. So I think Ineos feels that with a proper sporting structure

02:51 around him, he deserves the opportunity to showcase what he is capable of. I think there's

02:56 also a feeling that Ten Hag is sort of building the team for the future, with Kobe Mayon who's

03:01 come in to the team, Alejandro Garnaccio, he's also signed players like Hoyland, Andre

03:06 Onana, even Mason Mount, not players for, well players for the here and now, but also

03:10 players who you know, there is an eye on the future as well with those transfer policies.

03:14 And of course I think there's no escaping the fact that injuries have had a huge bearing

03:18 on last season as well, and there's a lot of sympathy I think for Ten Hag, and you know,

03:24 those injury issues certainly, the medical department, there are a number of issues there

03:29 at Manchester United that I think need to be examined going into the season. And it's

03:33 going to be a big summer now in terms of transfers, United need to get that right, and I think

03:37 that Ten Hag also needs to be aware that he needs to start this season, this upcoming

03:42 season in good form, because if they have a bad start to the campaign, you can very

03:46 quickly see a lot of speculation and rumours surrounding his future building, and you know,

03:52 it's not a perfect situation for him because he knows that if any of us had real faith

03:56 in him and his position, they would have come out weeks ago and backed him even before the

03:59 end of the season. They haven't done that, they have spoken to other managers, and it

04:03 does leave him in a slightly precarious position long term, but at the same time, this does

04:08 give him a basis to build from, and I think he knows if he does a good job from now going

04:12 forward that he will remain as Manchester United manager. But as always, plenty of Manchester

04:17 United news on Manchester World, and we'll be keeping you updated on the latest on Eric

04:21 Ten Hag and all the potential transfers coming in this summer.

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