Manchester United have sacked first team men’s coach, Erik ten Hag.
Current coaching assistant and former United striker Ruud van Nistelroy will replace him as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, while a permanent head coach is recruited, the club said.
A club statement added: “Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
“We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.”
Ten Hag clung onto his job after winning last season’s FA Cup, beating neighbours Manchester City, athough it was widely speculated at the time that City had done themselves and other likely top-four contenders a favour by keeping ten Hag in a job, with sacking rumours already rife following a string of disappointing results.
Following INEOS’s buy in in February of this year, however, new board member Sir Jim Ratcliffe opted to award ten Hag a new contract, and in July the club announced that it had extended ten Hag’s contract until June 2026.
United are in 14th position in the Premier League table, with just three wins from nine league games so far, having lost 2-1 at West Ham yesterday. They have spent over £600m on new players since ten Hag arrived in 2022. The club’s eighth-placed finish last season was their lowest in Premier League history.
Ten Hag said at the time: “I am very pleased to have reached agreement with the club to continue working together. Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined.
“However, we must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles.
“In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together.”
Gary Neville summed up the latest develoments on Sky Sports News: “The big shock for me is how bad they’ve been with the new signings that have come in. I felt as though they would have enough to be able to get a decent level of performance together after a smoother transfer window, and that Erik ten Hag would get a level of stability.
“The fact that they are 14th is unacceptable. You can’t be in 14th after nine or 10 games with the level of spend that’s occurred without being under significant pressure – and that’s what’s happened. I was hoping it would end differently. I think Manchester United fans were hoping that the manager would continue to keep his job and the faith shown in him in the summer would pay off. But it’s not been the case.”
Prolific North’s Marketing Awards on October 31 are unaffected by the latest stop-off in the ongoing managerial merry-go-round at Old Trafford, although those hoping for a selfie with the Dutch master tactician may be disappointed.
