- Gary Lineker asked Erik ten Hag about his future as Man United manager
- Ten Hag seemed unenthused by the line of questioning being cut by an angry figure.
- Have Chelsea offered Manchester United a way out of Erik ten Hag’s obscurity through the departure of Mauricio Pochettino? – Listen to the It’s all starting! Podcast
Gary Lineker’s awkward post-match interview with Erik ten Hag appeared to leave the Manchester United manager fuming following his team’s FA Cup final victory.
Reports emerged on Friday that Ten Hag was about to be fired, with The Guardian stating that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his management group “would sack the Dutchman even if his team won the FA Cup”.
United would claim an epic 2-1 victory against Manchester City at Wembley, with Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scoring in the first half to stun Pep Guardiola’s champions.
Ten Hag later joined Lineker, Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards to discuss the game on the BBC’s coverage of the final. Lineker had pressed him about the rumors before concluding the interview, smiling and saying, “We hope to see you next season!”
The Dutchman seemed unimpressed by the Match of the Day presenter’s comments, with Lineker putting him on the spot over his future at the club.
The former England striker said: “I can feel your frustration, and your frustration could be that this is possibly your last game.” Know?’
“I don’t know,” Ten Hag replied. ‘The only thing I’m doing is preparing my team and developing them. Progressing my team and individual players. Because this is a project for me. When I walked in I can say it was a disaster. Now we are better. We are far from where we want to be.
Despite a turbulent start to life at Man United, Ten Hag has won two major honors in the two seasons he has been at the club. His victory today also allows Man United to secure a place in the Europa League next season.
‘Football is about winning trophies. I want to play the best football, dynamic and offensive football, but in the end you have to win games and trophies. That’s the mentality we brought. This was our only chance and we did it. “I’m very proud of the players and the staff.”
‘All congratulations to the team. We play very well with our identity. Very strong. You’ve seen how we can play when we have the players on board. Some weren’t even fit, but the performance was very good.’
More to continue…