Erik ten Hag does not appear to be long for his role at Manchester United (Picture: Getty Images)

Liverpool legend has sympathy for Erik ten Hag plight at Manchester United

08 Oct 2024, 16:04 by Phil Haigh · Metro

Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher has sympathy for the situation Erik ten Hag finds himself in at Manchester United, although believes there is no doubt that performances have not been good enough regardless.

A goalless draw at Aston Villa on Sunday was not the worst result in the world but it did take United’s winless run to five matches and leave them 14th in the Premier League table.

The Red Devils have scored just five goals in their seven league outings so far and their limp displays show little improvement on the underwhelming campaign of last season.

Ten Hag appeared to rescue his job with the FA Cup victory at the end of last season, but even with that Wembley glory the Manchester United hierarchy were considering replacing him in the dugout.

A suitable replacement could not be found and the club stuck with the Dutchman, but while Carrager says that is a tough situation for the manager to be in and he sypmatises with him, he will be out of a job very soon if performances don’t improve.

‘I think with Man United, it’s not just about results, for a long time it’s been about performances. A lot of the time when they get results it feels a little bit fortunate,’ Carragher told Sky Sports. ‘Last season Scott McTominay got so many last minute goals for them.

‘You know sooner or later that if the performances don’t improve, they can’t get sustained results. They might get a result here or there, that’s football, that’s why we love the game. But the start of this season hasn’t been too different in terms of performances. We’re seeing the same things we’ve seen last season.

‘I think it’ll be tough for him but I have sympathy for him because I think he’s been hung out to dry a little bit.

Ten Hag’s team is really struggling for goals in the Premier League (Picture: Getty Images)

‘On the back of what happened in the summer with the ownership speaking to other managers. I feel for him. No manager or anyone in employment would want his bosses publicly speaking to lots of different people within the game.

‘It’s going to be tough for him to see out the season.’

The international break will not see a slight dimming of the spotlight on Ten Hag’s team, but he may be out of a job by the time the break is over.

Ten Hag’s fate is set to be decided this week, with Thomas Tuchel a potential replacement or Ruud van Nistelrooy an option as caretaker if the board pull the trigger.

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