28 October 2024 , 12:58
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Manchester United have sacked Erik ten Hag after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham meant the club registered one of their worst starts to a Premier League season.
United have one victory from their past five top-flight matches and sit 14th in the division, seven points above the relegation zone after scoring only eight goals in nine league games. The club’s hierarchy felt there were no excuses for the performances on the pitch and made the decision to part ways with Ten Hag, informing him on Monday morning.
The former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined the club’s coaching staff in the summer, will take charge of the first team in the short term, alongside other incumbent members of the club’s backroom. United’s next match is on Wednesday at home to Leicester in the Carabao Cup.
“Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager,” said the club in a statement. “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.”
It was thought Ten Hag needed to win at least one of last week’s fixtures against Fenerbahce in the Europa League and at West Ham. United scraped a 1-1 draw against José Mourinho’s side in Turkey and the result on Sunday sealed his fate. United were eager to give him time as they wanted as much continuity amid period of change at the club. It was hoped Ten Hag would work closely with the new sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox to help turn the club around after finishing eighth last season but there has been no obvious improvement.
The decision is the most significant made by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his allies since his company Ineos took a minority stake. United finished last season eighth in the Premier League, their lowest league finish since 1990, and have started this campaign with four wins from 13 matches in all competitions.
At the start of September United’s chief executive, Omar Berrada, and Ashworth publicly threw support behind Ten Hag. “Do we still believe in Erik?” Berrada said. “Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.” However three days later the Guardian reported that his “game model” was being scrutinised.
Ten Hag was under intense pressure at the end of last season but oversaw victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup final and kept his job after United held talks with a number of candidates.
They included Thomas Tuchel, who ruled himself out of the job and subsequently took the job as coach of the England national team. Other potential successors include Brentford’s Thomas Frank and the former England manager Gareth Southgate.
Ten Hag left Ajax to succeed the interim manager Ralf Rangnick at United for the 2022-23 season. The Dutchman was given a contract to June 2025, with the option to extend for a further year which was taken up this summer in a short-lived show of support from Ratcliffe.
After extending his contract, Ten Hag was backed in the transfer market. Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte all joined the club for large fees but none have looked settled since arriving. Questions were raised of Ten Hag’s signings, with the £85.6m spent on bringing Antony with him from Ajax, seen as a disaster move.
United finished third, 14 points off the top, in Ten Hag’s first campaign and won the Carabao Cup, beating Newcastle in the final.