Manchester United will have a decision to make over the future of manager Erik ten Hag as a review takes place over the club’s 2023/24 season.
United ended the campaign on a high, winning the FA Cup and securing another season of European football. It’s United’s second trophy under Ten Hag having ended a six-year wait for silverware last season by winning the Carabao Cup.
But their Premier League performances have been poor with United finishing eighth, their lowest top-flight finish since 1989/90. Below are what some pundits have had to say about Ten Hag and his Man United future as the Dutchman waits to discover his fate.
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Gary Neville
“I don’t see a suitable replacement for Ten Hag available,” Neville told Sky Sports ahead of the final.
“Bayern Munich are struggling to find a replacement, others are struggling. I think we need to stick with Ten Hag and give him one more season – an injury-free season – to see if United can get back to the standards of last season where they won a trophy and finished in the top four.
“Players and managers have struggled to come to terms with Old Trafford in the last 10 years. These players and managers were great when United signed them, so there is something fundamentally wrong that is creating this difficulty.
“Maybe the new ownership and personnel will allow these players and manager to feel more stable.”
Jamie Carragher
“This is one of the most poorly coached teams in the Premier League,” Carragher said about Ten Hag’s team on Sky Sports’ after their 4-0 loss at Crystal Palace on May 6.
“That is a fact. That is not an opinion. That is a fact. The numbers tell you that when you see them bottom of the league defensively, lower than Sheffield United.
“I struggled to see how United would win tonight but I thought Palace would win one or two nil. No Manchester United team should be getting beaten 4-0 by Crystal Palace.
“Manchester United’s U23 team, if they are at Manchester United, have come through their academy, have been coached and taught to play, I would still not expect them to lose 4-0.
“I have never been a manager or a coach but I have been a player and I have been coached by top coaches and some of the things that I see are just wrong.”
Rio Ferdinand
“The more and more I think about it, win or lose, I don’t think Ten Hag will be there come next season,’” former United defender Rio Ferdinand said ahead of the final on his FIVE YouTube channel.
“I’m not saying that’s what I want, I’m just saying what I believe is going to happen, and I believe that the club are going to look elsewhere I think.
“I don’t think [winning the FA Cup] changes anything in the eyes of INEOS. I’ve not spoken to anyone there, this is just an assumption, this is what I think.”
Roy Keane
Keane believes the club needs to be backing the manager despite a lack of tangible results this season. Speaking on ITV’s coverage of the final, he claimed: “We know there is a decision that needs to be made.
“We spoke about the pressure the manager is under and the questions he got before the game, it’s always difficult when you are preparing for a cup final. I always think of football, you have to reflect and enjoy the game today. You see the staff, the players and the supporters, just cross that bridge when you come to it.
“The manager has done his job today. He’s been heavily criticised because of their league form. We gave him plaudits last year when they finished third in the league and won the league cup.
“This year, real problems in Europe and they have had their injuries. Beating Man City in the cup final is always an extra bonus. Fingers crossed that they support the manager, but let’s see how the next few days go.”
Teddy Sheringham
“The owners, the people in charge, have got to have a look at the situation and say, is that good enough for Manchester United?” Sheringham told Sky Sports.
“It’s a fantastic end to the season, no doubt, and fully deserved, and I love the way he’s brushed things off that if Manchester United don’t want me, I’ll go and win trophies elsewhere. But at the same time you look at where they’ve finished, I think it was 14 defeats during the season, it’s not good enough for Manchester United.
“They need to be in the top two or three pushing to win the league and at the moment, they’re nowhere near it.”
Sam Allardyce
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, former Premier League boss Allardyce reckons Ten Hag’s job would have been safe if it weren’t for the fact Sir Jim Ratcliffe came in.
“The big responsibility is how many of the new players signed by Man Utd are his responsibility, or is he responsible for? Because if he’s responsible for them he hasn’t done very well,” Allardyce said prior to the cup final. “That’s Man Utd’s big, big problem for the last 10 years now.”
Asked about the decision on Ten Hag’s future already being made irrelevant of what happened in the FA Cup final, Allardyce quickly answered: “That’s only because Sir Jim Ratcliffe has come in and Dave Brailsford. If before that, and it was just the Glazers still, I think he’d be alright (still be in the job) next season, because he’s got to another cup final, and he got to a cup final last year.”