Man Utd stars expecting Ten Hag to be sacked as behind the scenes problem raised

05 March 2024 , 10:20

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is under pressure (Image: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

Manchester United's players reportedly believe new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe will sack manager Erik ten Hag at the end of the season.

Ratcliffe finally completed his purchase of a minority stake in the club last month, with the deal seeing the INEOS chief take complete control of the sporting side of the business. He has already started to put his stamp on the club, having poached Omar Berrada from rivals Manchester City to take over as CEO.

Dan Ashworth is also close to becoming United's new director of football, having been placed on gardening leave by Newcastle while the two clubs negotiate an exit fee. Ratcliffe has also refused to give Ten Hag his public backing, with the Red Devils current sat 11 points off the top four after suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats to City and Fulham.

And according to a report from the Daily Mail, many United players expect Ratcliffe to sack the Dutchman this season. The report adds that Ten Hag has 'confided to coaching staff and agents that he has no guarantees over his future'.

It comes after the Manchester Evening News claimed that some players are concerned about the intensity of Ten Hag's training sessions and believe it has contributed to their injury problems.

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However, when asked about Ratcliffe's refusal to publicly back him, the Dutchman insisted he remains confident about his future. "I'm here, I'm under contract for three seasons, so I don't care," he said ahead of the Manchester derby.

"I am in this process, I'm only focusing on the process, so I don't care what's going on around me. I have had many talks with Sir Jim Radcliffe, also with Sir Dave Brailsford and others in that group.

New United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already made some major changes (PA)

"So I know where we are talking about and I have a strong belief and I feel that they believe in me. But I'm not focusing about my personal circumstances. I'm just focusing on the team and I have to find solutions for this team so that they perform the best way they can.

"It's all about focusing on that and not getting distracted by any noise or whatever. I know what I'm doing. Consistently, we have had talks and we're talking about the future together."

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Matthew Cooper