Erik ten Hag future: Manchester United remains silent after seven-hour board meeting | Football news

Manchester United remains silent following the almost seven-hour board meeting of the club’s hierarchy on Tuesday.

Erik ten Hag’s future was believed to be one of several topics up for discussion, but no clarity emerged on the manager’s position in the days that followed.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Joel Glazer and United’s leadership group, including CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth, were filmed arriving in central London as media attention continued to focus on United and their manager’s future.

But as far as United are concerned, it’s business as usual, and this meeting was planned long before Ten Hag oversaw United’s worst start to a Premier League season.

His side have won just two of their first seven league games and are 14th in the table, closer to the relegation zone than fourth. No wonder questions are asked.

For the time being, United’s decision makers have not given an answer and for Ten Hag no news seems to be good news.

Perhaps it would be wrong to expect another show of support less than a fortnight after the last one, which followed the dismal first-half performance of the 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham in the Premier League.

The pressure mounted after United threw away another two-goal lead against Porto in the Europa League. Ten Hag needed Harry Maguire, a player he had previously been open to letting go, to rescue a point from the bench in stoppage time.

The manager appeared to give himself some breathing space after his team put in an impressive defensive display in a goalless draw against Aston Villa before the international break.

Ten Hag acknowledged the shortcomings in attack but said he was confident he still has the support of United’s leadership, all of whom were present at Villa Park.

The small group of media that gathered at the board meeting a few days later understandably confused onlookers, with the ensuing silence adding to the uncertainty.

But United have never given any indication that Ten Hag’s position is in danger – he is convinced the opposite is true – and they are under no obligation to respond to the media speculation.

Why are there doubts about Ten Hag?

INEOS has not been shy about exploring other coaching options while Ten Hag was in post. Their summer review led to them speaking to at least five other managers.

Ultimately, they decided that Ten Hag was the best option to lead the team forward and the option in his contract was activated, extending his stay until June 2026.

They also backed him for £200 million in the summer transfer market, two of the five signings, Matthijs de Ligt
and Noussair Mazraoui, who previously worked at Ten Hag.

These seemed to be signs of a leadership and manager locked in knots after initial uncertainty.

Despite the investment, poor results followed, creating a renewed sense of concern for the manager.

United know their biggest problem lies in front of goal, where they are seriously underperforming against their XG, where they are the worst in the league. That usually normalizes.

Meanwhile, defensively, they have conceded as many top goals as Manchester City and Chelsea this season.

After insisting he was the best manager for the job in the summer and early September, can the leadership group pull the reins at Ten Hag so quickly after admitting that the core problem at the club was its structure?

Is three months in the new setup enough to make a judgment or can the results no longer be ignored despite the underlying data?