Despite capping off the season with a trophy for the second year running, Manchester United's Dutch coach Erik ten Hag is uncertain to continue at the helm of the Old Trafford outfit, with the new footballing structure at the club conducting an internal review on what has been a chaotic and wretched season for the Red Devils.
United finished in eighth place in the Premier League, only qualifying for European football through their FA Cup win, and totalled their second lowest points tally since 1992. In addition, they registered a negative goal difference for the first time in 34 years.
And yet, surveys have suggested that a majority of supporters would like the manager to stay, even after such a difficult campaign. Following a decade of chopping and changing coaches with limited success, here is the case for sticking by Ten Hag into next season.
New footballing structure
Following a huge revamp of footballing operations at Old Trafford after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's takeover of 25% of the club in February, Manchester United look set to put the days of prioritising the commercial side of the club behind them.
Previously, the manager was not only responsible for coaching a team that was isolated from the rest of the club, but also identifying new players. The likes of Antony, signed for a staggering £90M back in the summer of 2022 after the rudderless Red Devils hierarchy stalled on a decision all summer, leaving Ajax no time to source a replacement.
This kind of inefficiency will no longer be tolerated under the new regime, with the appointment of experienced football operators in the likes of ex Manchester City CEO Omar Berrada and Technical Director Jason Wilcox, with Dan Ashworth rumoured to be arriving in the near future, Ten Hag will be much better supported off the field and therefore able to concentrate on putting things right on it.
A fully fit squad
Over 60 injuries this season, with the crisis particularly acute amongst defensive players, have severely hampered both Ten Hag's ability to implement his style of play and the stability and consistency of personnel in order to do so.
Having used more than 20 different defensive combinations and being able to field his first choice starting back line only twice all season, there is no denying that a paper thin squad has provided a significant obstacle in the Dutchman's second season. Not an excuse, but a huge contributing factor to the team's mediocre performance.
Trophies
Two in two years. Whilst many would view the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup as inferior trophies in the grand scheme of things, successive seasons of silverware is nothing to be sniffed at, especially given where the squad was when Ten Hag took over and the difficulties encountered this season.
Although the Red Devils are crying out for consistency in the league, winning trophies in successive years can only strengthen the manager's hand when it comes to reviewing his performance.
Stability
It has been over a decade since Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out from professional after 27 trophy-laden years with Manchester United. It is worth noting that, whilst in a completely different era, the Scot was also on the verge of being sacked in his early years, his job widely believed to have been saved by Mark Robins in the club's run to the 1990 FA Cup trophy.
The parallels with Ten Hag's situation are there, but things are also different. Whilst many United fans at the time wanted Ferguson game, the vast majority inside Old Trafford want to see the Dutchman get more time to implement his project.
For the past decade, the club has chopped and changed managers regularly, Ten Hag the sixth permanent appointment since 2013. Indeed, the squad is made up of players from all of those coaches' tenures and it's high time that the hierarchy gave a manager time to fully see through his plans. These difficult times are precisely the moments where stability is key, and the club would be wise to ignore the clamour for change on social media and concentrate on backing a a manager that, despite a difficult season in which he doesn't emerge without his share of the blame, has shown more than enough to justify continuing at the helm of one of the world's biggest clubs.
