Manchester United’s new leadership team have given their unequivocal backing to manager Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag has received the ‘dreaded vote of confidence’ just three games into the season.
Manchester United’s chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth have voiced support for manager Erik ten Hag, after a poor start to the Premier League campaign.
United have scored only two goals in three matches and have lost two games, ranking 14th in the Premier League table.
Omar Berrada on Erik ten Hag
Ineos hired Omar Berrada early in the year, and he officially started work in July. He insists Erik ten Hag has the club’s unequivocal backing as manager.
Berrada is quoted via ESPN: “We’re very happy with that decision [to give Ten Hag a new contract].
“Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together in this transfer window.
“We’re going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team.
“Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.”
Dan Ashworth on Erik ten Hag
Dan Ashworth, who also began his role in early July, also expressed positive words about Manchester United’s manager.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks.
“I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can, and whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psychology, whether that’s training ground flow.
“It’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
Erik ten Hag has to deliver
There is an important distinction to make about Berrada and Ashworth’s comments. They were made before Manchester United’s defeat to Liverpool, under embargo, and have only been released as agreed with media, on Monday evening.
During the loss to Liverpool, Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe was seen looking miserable in the stands at Old Trafford.
Ineos won’t be changing their stance after one loss. The wording of their comments show total support for the Dutchman.
It was a big call to keep Ten Hag in the summer, and they are not going to change this suddenly two or three games into the season, or 10 for that matter.
Yet the situation is this, Erik ten Hag is in his third season at Manchester United and has to improve on last season’s poor league finish of eighth place.
While Ten Hag points towards the two trophies he has won, rightly so, United fans want to see sustained improvement.
The opening three games to the season suggest United are standing still, struggling to score goals and making simple mistakes defensively.
There are 35 league games to go, and United’s new signings are yet to settle in. Manuel Ugarte is yet to play a minute after arriving on deadline day.
Gary Neville has said he believes Ineos will give Ten Hag until at least December. Their comments suggest they will give him the entire season.
Ten Hag just needs to ensure Berrada and Ashworth don’t need to keep coming out and explaining he has their support.
If they do, it might get tiresome to them eventually. Fans voiced frustration during the defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford, and while the next five games may be kinder to Ten Hag, there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome.
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