Erik ten Hag has received public backing from the two most senior Manchester United executives hired by Ineos this summer, as questions swirl again regarding the manager’s Old Trafford future.
United confirmed in June that Ten Hag would be retained after they considered several other candidates, but the team have three points from their first three games after losing against Brighton and Liverpool in consecutive matches.
The club’s chief executive, Omar Berrada, and the sporting director, Dan Ashworth, have thrown support behind Ten Hag. Berrada was asked before the 3-0 home defeat against Liverpool on Sunday whether the Dutchman would retain United’s backing should the club have a run of defeats. He replied: “Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos-led search this summer for a possible successor to Ten Hag was headed by the technical director, Jason Wilcox, because Ashworth was not yet in position. Berrada was also not at United when Ten Hag extended his contract by a year until 2026.
Berrada said: “In terms of the contract, that was a decision that was taken prior to both of our arrivals. But we’re very happy with that decision. Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together, as Dan said before, in this [summer] transfer window. We’re going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results.”
Ashworth, asked whether he was comfortable – as the sporting director – with having had no say in Ten Hag being retained, referenced previous jobs. “It happened at Newcastle with Eddie Howe, it happened at West Brom – Tony Mowbray was in place,” he said. “Very rarely do you go into a job as a sporting director and there’s no manager in place.”
Ashworth was pressed on whether he had genuinely had no input regarding Ten Hag’s future given his own success depends primarily on the first-team’s performance. “I didn’t start until 1 July, so none whatsoever,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks.
“I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can, and whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psychology, whether that’s training‑ground flow, it’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
Some fans booed Ten Hag or the players at Old Trafford on Sunday. Berrada cited excitement regarding United’s future. “I’m very optimistic at what we have in front of us. We’re starting to put the right pieces in place and I’m absolutely convinced we’re going to be successful.”
He refused to state how long it may take to make United consistent challengers again. “It’s almost impossible to put a timescale to answer that question,” Berrarda said.
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“We don’t want to just win one Premier League and then be satisfied. We want to create a team that is capable of competing for the Champions League, for the Premier League and for the domestic cups on a consistent basis.”
Of those signed by Ten Hag in his five transfer windows Antony, Lisandro Martínez, André Onana, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui had worked previously with the manager. This has caused scrutiny regarding whether Ten Hag is considering a wide pool of players.
Ashworth said: “It is natural in human nature to work with somebody you’ve worked with previously – in all business contexts. Because you know that player. But also we’ve signed a number this summer that haven’t worked with Erik previously: [Leny] Yoro; [Manuel] Ugarte; he’d never worked with [Joshua] Zirkzee. He’s worked with Matthijs and Nous previously – they were both on our radar. It’s a joined‑up decision.”
Jadon Sancho moved to Chelsea on loan for the season with an obligation to buy for £20m-£25m. Ashworth stated the winger was not forced out. “We’re not in a position where we’re kicking players out of the club,” he said.