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Hours before confirmation finally When he realized that the threat of dismissal had passed, Erik ten Hag was sitting at the table in Ibiza opposite his wife Bianca, the top of a crisp white shirt unbuttoned and a glass of red wine in his hand.
Perhaps your mind goes back to a month ago when, after a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, many had written him off. It was, club legends felt, the lowest point of his tenure.
When Michael Olise’s second goal and Crystal Palace’s fourth went past Andre Onana, it looked like the finishing touches were being added to Ten Hag’s Manchester United obituary.
His skeptics, more vocal than ever, had seen enough with four games left in the season. They said Ten Hag was finished. Another Manchester United manager had reached his expiration date in two years.
And yet, after an unexpected success in the FA Cup final over bitter rivals Manchester City, which saw them arrive as 8-1 underdogs, Ten Hag has miraculously held on to his position.
sport mail analyzes the five reasons why the Dutchman has avoided dismissal.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was able to enjoy a glass of wine during his holiday
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) and Ineos have decided that the Dutchman will remain as United manager.
1. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
The strongest argument for the defense when it came to Ten Hag lay in the development of United’s young players.
United are a club that prides itself on its home-grown talents and the Dutchman, although forced to resort to the youth ranks due to injury problems (more on this shortly), has shown confidence and a willingness to give to the stars from the academy an opportunity.
He has helped turn Kobbie Mainoo into a player who is pushing to start for England during the Euros this summer, while Alejandro Garnacho has taken a big step forward as one of the first names in the team’s squad.
Ten Hag kept faith in Hojlund during tough times, while also helping move Willy Kambwala, Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass, Toby Collyer, Louis Jackson and Habeeb Ogunneye into the first-team squad.
“We have a lot of good young players,” Ten Hag said in early March.
“We have to develop their skills, feel in the team and build a stronger connection with Manchester United, a real winning attitude.” “That’s the basis for winning trophies.”
With greater restrictions on spending and Ineos keen to give the team a more local feel in the future, few candidates could offer a better showcase for youth development than Ten Hag.
Kobbie Mainoo was a shining light for United after making his breakthrough into the first team.
Man United recognizes the work Ten Hag has done with Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho (right)
2. NIGHTMARE OF INJURIES
Following the victory over Brighton on the final day of the Premier League season, Ten Hag laughed with Mail Sport when asked to reflect on his injury crisis in defence.
“A nightmare” was how he chose to describe it. No Premier League team suffered more injuries last season and Ten Hag were often without three of their four starting defenders.
Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia missed long periods of the season (the entire campaign in Malacia’s case), leaving United without a recognized left-back.
Lisandro Martínez, Ten Hag’s signing and United’s best centre-back, was sidelined for most of the season, while Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans came and went with injury problems.
Lisandro Martínez battled more injuries during the season and was greatly missed on defense.
Ten Hag had to deal with more than 60 injury cases, something he claimed he had never experienced before in his entire managerial career.
During the extensive review, Ineos accepted that it was unprecedented how extreme the injury problems were and, with a plan in place to review the medical department to prevent a repeat, they are keen to see how Ten Hag fares with the full squad.
With many of their starters back for the FA Cup final, there was a marked difference when they beat City.
A clean bill of health could help Ten Hag start next season cleanly with his superiors.
Mauricio Pochettino (left) and Thomas Frank (right) are understood to have held talks in the week leading up to the FA Cup final, but Ineos decided to continue with Ten Hag.
Last week, former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel was feted in Monaco by Ratcliffe.
3. SIGNINGS BACKED TO COME GOOD
How long Ten Hag stays at United could well depend on how well his signings perform in the future.
It was argued that the new long-term signings made last season took much longer than expected to gel.
Andre Onana was brought in as the new number one in place of David de Gea but took six months to recover, costing United their Champions League group stage in the process with a series of high-profile errors, while that young striker Rasmus Hojlund seemed to get injured just when he was finding some rhythm.
Mason Mount arrived as Ten Hag’s number one target last summer and yet he missed most of the season through injury; It was argued that the full benefit of those signings is yet to come.
“I’m convinced he will be (a key player),” Ten Hag said. sport mail from Mount back in March.
It has been a difficult start to life at Old Trafford for Mason Mount as he battled injury setbacks.
‘He did not have the opportunity to prove this point. But he will be a very good player for Manchester United.
“It’s been really unfortunate and disappointing for him, but also for us, when you have such a classy player in the middle and you can’t play with him.” He has had injuries as we all know.
“He didn’t have time to get into the rhythm, but I’m sure that when he’s fit and plays and gets into that rhythm, he’ll contribute to Manchester United’s success, I’m sure.”
With a period of rest now behind them, Ten Hag’s hopes depend on his moves in the transfer market proving hits, rather than misses.
The feel-good factor of the FA Cup and the surge in fan support has clearly turned Ratcliffe’s head.
4. NEW STRUCTURE BACKED TO HELP
While humbling – his bosses are actively searching for a successor – there is a feeling at Old Trafford that a completely new structure, which United believe can become the best in its class, can help ease the workload at Ten Hag .
Omar Berrada arrives in mid-July as general director; Jason Wilcox already holds the position of Technical Director; a deal is underway to bring in Dan Ashworth as athletic director; United firmly believe they are at the cusp of a footballing structure that can change their fortunes.
It could also be that Ten Hag’s influence on transfers fades and there may even be a move to a title of ‘head coach’, rather than ‘coach’ – the £400m he has splashed since arriving is said to have drawn attention Ratcliffe and company.
“Constructive” is what this week’s talks between Ten Hag and Ineos are said to have been. Sincere, without a doubt. It will be up to the Dutchman to fit into the new system that has been built around him.
With fewer off-field responsibilities, Ten Hag will (bosses hope) be able to place greater emphasis on training and, as such, deliver better results.
5. ASSOCIATED ALTERNATIVES
As Ten Hag continued to fend off questions about his future as the season progressed – he reaffirmed his commitment, vowed to “keep fighting” and said common sense should allow him more time – Ineos held not-so-secret talks with potential replacements.
Former United manager Kieran McKenna was an attractive option before committing to stay at Ipswich.
Representatives of Brentford manager Thomas Frank held talks ahead of the FA Cup final.
Winning the FA Cup appears to have been decisive and a new structure is prepared to help him
Ratcliffe (right) is now ready to hand Ten Hag (left) a new contract as a show of defiance.
Gareth Southgate, a favorite of Sir Dave Brailsford and incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth, was unable to commit before Euro 2024.
Even last week, Ratcliffe sat down with Thomas Tuchel in Monaco to hear his vision for United should he get the job. The German is said to be taking a break from football and United, at least for now, was not an option.
Mauricio Pochettino has admirers at Ineos but has been busy sorting out his Chelsea fee after the London club sacked him.
An exhaustive review that, in the end, led Ineos to determine that of the available candidates none was an obvious improvement over Ten Hag.
