Erik ten Hag may be on the cusp of sealing his switch to Manchester United, but he is currently in the firing line in Amsterdam after Ajax's most recent defeat.
The 52-year-old has been told he is "not a game-changer" by Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf who did not hold back on Ten Hag in the wake of his side's dramatic KNVB Cup final defeat by enemies PSV Eindhoven who staged a second-half comeback to snatch victory and silverware.
Ten Hag is thought to have reached a verbal agreement with United earlier this month and will succeed Ralf Rangnick from his post once the season concludes. However, some sections of the Old Trafford faithful may be concerned by the fall-out of Ajax's latest loss both from the manager and the Dutch media.
The Ajax boss hardly accepted defeat gracefully and instead insisted that his team were the worthy winners while also taking a not-so-subtle shot in the direction of the officials after claiming his side "played against more than eleven players". Those remarks were swiftly rejected by the press, particularly De Telegraaf who labelled them as "nonsense".
The same report goes on to highlight how though Ajax have managed to grind out enough results to remain top of the Eredivisie table, the quality in performance has significantly declined - as exhibited by the cup final defeat.
Another prominent voice in Dutch football media - Hugo Borst of Algemeen Dagblad claimed that choosing United could be a big mistake from Ten Hag's perspective.
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"The most unwise thing he seems to do is choose Manchester United. In fact, Ten Hag succeeds Alex Ferguson. Just like Van Gaal, Mourinho and Solskjaer, among others, did,” Borst said. "That is impossible if you also know that the former United players are horribly powerful in the media, and they’ll be able to keep you on your feet for the least tactical error.
"Let's hope that Ten Hag does not lose the Dutch national title too because every mistake is picked up overseas and widely reported. His choice for Manchester United already looks like a mission impossible."
Ten Hag could be walking into a United side without Champions League football next season if Rangnick fails to guide the Red Devils into the top-four before the season's end. The club currently sit fifth in the Premier League table but are level on points with Arsenal in sixth having played a game more and a trip to the Emirates soon on the horizon.
