THE increasingly sizeable club of ex-United managers might be casting an envious glance towards Erik ten Hag at the moment, as the Dutchman continues to try and right the ship despite a run of disastrous results.
Ten Hag had credit in the bank from last season, when he guided United back to the Champions League and a first trophy in six years, but he is getting close to dipping into the red. A run of 12 defeats from 24 games this season is the kind of record that reflects favourably on David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and even Ralf Rangnick, who lost only eight of 31 games during his spell in charge.
Despite this, Ten Hag's job remains safe, for now. It should be said there are mitigating circumstances, in terms of the injuries that have plagued the squad this season, but it's also the case that many of United's ills go beyond unavailable players. Tactically Ten Hag looks to have lost his way and his squad's confidence is suffering.
He will try to arrest the decline at Anfield this weekend, five years to the very weekend when Mourinho did the same and ended up taking charge of the club for the final time.
This story is from the December 15, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the December 15, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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