Erik ten Hag was sat in the same seat he had been 15 months earlier when, at the peak of his powers and his popularity, he declared: “I love this club.” Some 15 months later, he struck a defiant tone. “If they don’t want me any more then I go somewhere else to win trophies because that is what I did my whole career,” he said. He was in the depths of Wembley, having added the 2024 FA Cup to the 2023 Carabao Cup. His first piece of silverware came when Manchester United had just beaten Barcelona, when they seemed to be surging into title contention. His second came after the combination of their lowest ever Premier League finish and their poorest ever Champions League campaign.
United decided they did want Ten Hag. Sort of. And eventually, after two-and-a-half weeks in limbo, he was confirmed as their manager for next season; potentially longer, given they are discussing a new contract. And yet if there is a logic to making an end-of-season review under new owners as thorough as possible, if United were eager to avoid knee-jerk reactions, the process has scarcely been a vote of confidence in Ten Hag.
