Ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane hopes that Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag is “given more time” at Old Trafford.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane is hopeful that Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag is “given more time” at Old Trafford amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future.
Man United were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, with the loss proving to be the team’s 14th in England‘s top flight this term, and they remain down in eighth position in the table.
Ten Hag has not received public backing from the club’s new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is believed to be giving serious consideration to changing the manager this summer.
Thomas Tuchel, who is leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season, is seen as the favourite to replace Ten Hag, should a change be made by Ratcliffe and his INEOS team.
Meanwhile, England boss Gareth Southgate and former Chelsea head coach Graham Potter have also been mentioned as potential candidates for the position.
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Keane hopeful Man United will back Ten Hag
There is highly unlikely to be any movement before the end of the season, with Man United finishing their Premier League campaign with games against Newcastle United (H) and Brighton & Hove Albion (A).
The Red Devils will then take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 25.
A decision on Ten Hag will seemingly be made soon after the clash at Wembley, and Keane is hopeful that Ten Hag is “given more time” due to the problems that he has faced this season.
“I hope he’s given more time,” Keane told Sky Sports News when asked whether Ten Hag could lose his job this summer.
“He’s an experienced manager. (It’s) certainly not easy getting interviewed after the game where the stats for this team are so bad, in terms of the record defeats, where they are in the table, their struggles in Europe.
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Decision on Ten Hag likely to be made after FA Cup final
“Yeah they have a cup final coming up in a few weeks, it’s a tough interview. He’s trying to stay positive, tough questions he has been asked about the players behind him, is he tactically up to it.
“(Is he) tactically up to it? I would like to think so. I think there has been genuine problems at the club, the injuries, he’s pretty honest with that side of it. But the more games you are losing and when you are eighth in the table, I suppose you end up losing that belief.
“But I would never sit in the studio and think: ‘I hope the manager should lose his job’ or anything like that. I hope he is given more time. When they get to the summer they can regroup and restructure the club, whatever that may be.
“There are huge problems at the club but I hope he is given a chance to get things right, because last year there were some positives, you have to be honest with that. But there are huge challenges coming up and he is under huge pressure.”
Ten Hag led Man United to the EFL Cup trophy during his first season at the helm, while he also delivered a third-placed finish in the Premier League in 2022-23.
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