Andy Cole shares Erik ten Hag theory after Manchester United defeat vs Bayern Munich
Erik ten Hag is under increasing pressure at Man United following the club's exit from the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Former striker Andy Cole believes Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is in danger of being a victim of his own success at Old Trafford.
The pressure on the Dutchman's shoulders was increased even further on Tuesday night after United exited the Champions League. They were beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich in their final group game, meaning they will not participate in Europe after Christmas.
United, who face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, fought tirelessly to get back into Europe's premier club competition last season, securing a respectable third-placed finish in the Premier League. Taking into account the mess Ten Hag inherited at the time of his arrival at Old Trafford in May 2022, it was a huge success.
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He also guided the club to its first trophy since 2017, winning the Carabao Cup at Wembley. As a result of those two separate successes, United were expected, by many, to kick-on this season and compete in four different competitions.
Instead, with not even half of the season completed, United are now in just two competitions, those being the Premier League and the FA Cup. Though Cole admits United have not been good enough so far this term, he fears Ten Hag is in danger because of the success of his maiden season in charge.
"I think Erik may be a victim of his own success," Cole told Betfred. "In his first season he secured a third-place finish in the Premier League and won the Carabao Cup with the players that he has, so I believe he overachieved.
"Last season was fantastic, but nobody should have been expecting United to compete [for the title] this season. What the manager did in his first year was absolutely phenomenal.
"Unfortunately, people have bought into the hype a little bit and now the fans believe that the team is significantly underachieving. People talk about Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp being given the time to build teams at their respective clubs rather than being expected to compete immediately, but are they really competing?
"They were given the time to bring in the right personnel and provide stability, but ultimately, are they actually competing? Liverpool won the league in the Covid season, but nobody has got close to Manchester City since then. Arsenal were competing for large parts of last season, but crumbled towards the end.
"Are either of them going to compete this season? I don't know. If City can pull their socks up a little bit and hit half decent form, they could still win the Premier League at a canter.
"It's crazy what we deem as competing these days because the gap between City and the rest of the teams in the league is huge, absolutely huge."