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Erik ten Hag’s position as manager of Manchester United is ‘secure’ until at least the end of the season, according to a report.
United have endured a frustrating second campaign under the Dutchman underpinned by on-field setbacks and a fitness crisis which has seen over 50 individual injuries keep first-team players out of action.
Expectations were high for the Red Devils heading into the season after a promising 2022/23 yielded Carabao Cup success, but scrutiny and pressure has mounted on Ten Hag in recent months due to declining results and performances.
Nevertheless,The Guardian report Ten Hag will not be removed from his post this season having impressed incoming shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe since he first agreed to purchase a 27.7% stake in the club in January.
Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, who is leading an audit regarding United’s club operations, have agreed Ten Hag’s future should not be decided until the summer. Ten Hag remains in talks with the duo regarding squad building and their transfer plans.
Ten Hag’s contract is due to expire in 2025, but Ratcliffe is said to recognise it would be difficult to secure a replacement. England boss Gareth Southgate has been linked with the United job, but the report adds Ratcliffe and Brailsford’s admiration of him is not unique and they feel the same way about several managers in the game right now.
United kept their hopes of winning silverware this year alive with a dramatic and impressive 4-3 win at home to Liverpool in round six of the FA Cup on Sunday. They have been handed a favourable draw against Championship side Coventry City in the semi-finals, with Manchester City or Chelsea awaiting the victor.
A top-five finish in the Premier League could be enough to secure Champions League football next season, though sixth-placed United sit six points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, with Spurs (+17) boasting a far superior goal difference to the Red Devils (0).