Erik ten Hag is going to be glancing over his shoulders. He will also notice that there is a manager skulking in the background, hoping to unseat him as Manchester United’s manager. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s co-owner, might not have been as eager to give Ten Hag a contract extension if he had known what he knew at the time.
Because England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, has quit and is once again available for hire. Ratcliffe greatly admires this manager. Not like Ten Hag.
Ratcliffe probably wouldn’t keep Southgate hanging while he made the decision to fire him. Furthermore, it is inconceivable that Ratcliffe, would speak to a different manager about replacing Southgate like he did with Ten hag and Thomas Tuchel saga.
Ten Hag must now watch over his shoulders
Ratcliffe’s dream scenario was to remove Ten Hag at the end of the previous campaign and replace him with Southgate. However, Southgate was steering England in Euro 2024, so he was unable to.
Thus, he made the decision to postpone Ten Hag’s expulsion. Don’t be duped, though; Ten Hag recently signed a contract that isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Alright, so in the event that Ten Hag is fired, that might ensure a larger payout. It offers the Dutchman no other guarantees, though.
And given Ratcliffe’s enormous wealth, he wouldn’t bat an eye if it meant forking over a few million pounds to get rid of Ten Hag. Ten Hag should not be surprised that Southgate is a member of Ratcliffe’s inner circle in sports.
He has a close friendship with Sir Dave Brailsford and a closer friendship with Dan Ashworth, the new sporting director of United.
United must start the season strong
On August 10, United takes on Manchester City in the Community Shield. A few weeks later, they play home to fierce rivals Liverpool in the Premier League.
Ten Hag will be under constant pressure to do well in the upcoming season. And there’s a certain guy waiting to take his place if he has a poor run of them.
Last term, the Red Devils started the season on a poor not, putting Ten Hag under pressure for virtually all of the season. In fact, the FA Cup win against Manchester City is probably the only reason why the Dutchman still has his job at United.
Any form of mediocrity would no longer be tolerated anymore, especially with a manager like Gareth Southgate waiting in the background to see how things progress.
