Erik ten Hag responds to questions about Man Utd job security

Erik ten Hag has admitted ‘there is pressure’ on his job right now, but feels the backing of Man Utd owners INEOS.

The Dutch tactician signed a new deal at Old Trafford over the summer after leading United to a shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City.

That was Ten Hag’s second trophy in two years at Man Utd after leading the club to the 2022/23 EFL Cup.

However, last season’s Premier League performance was far from good enough, finishing eighth in the table and only securing European football thanks to that FA Cup triumph.

The Red Devils haven’t made a great start to his season, either, taking just six points from four Premier League games, including a humiliating 3-0 thrashing at home to arch-rivals Liverpool.

Man Utd are preparing to face Crystal Palace away on Saturday evening. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of that match, Ten Hag has addressed questions about his job security and backing from Man Utd owners INEOS.

“I know when we are losing, there is pressure, there is noise so I don’t have to read these articles what’s coming up because I know it’s there,” said Ten Hag.

“But yes, to answer your question, I feel the backing. I feel we are in this together and we are in a new season and yeah, we will go again for silverware and we will go again to construct a good team and yeah, of course, we hope to do it as in the first season, but if we have say setbacks, we’ll deal with it and then still we have to win.”

Critics ‘always want Man Utd to fail’, says Ten Hag

There have been signs of improvement with Man Utd winning their last two games 3-0 and 7-0 against Southampton and Barnsley, respectively.

However, it’s going to take much more than that for Ten Hag to convince fans and his critics that he’s the right man for the job.

Indeed, the former Ajax manager believes he’s also battling against a landscape in which many are actively willing Man Utd’s demise.

“Oh, they always want to let Manchester United fail,” Ten Hag added. “And the only way we can change this, and that is we as a team we have to turn this around and we know how to do it and we know we have to win. And when we don’t win, there is the criticism and we have to deal with this.

“But when we do the things right, we are confident we can deal with all of this and we can perform, and we have shown it so often.”

Top photo by Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images