Erik ten Hag sack meeting: Berrada comments, Ashworth backing and Ratcliffe's refusal
Manchester United's decision makers are set to hold a summit to decide the future of under-fire boss Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman oversaw the Red Devils' worst start ever to a Premier League season
Just five weeks ago, Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada sat in the plush boardroom at Old Trafford and gave his unequivocal support to Erik ten Hag.
“Erik has our full backing,” said Berrada. “We’re going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results.”
United's newly-appointed sporting director, Dan Ashworth, sat alongside Berrada and echoed his colleague's sentiment about backing Ten Hag.
“I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can,” said Ashworth. “To allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
READ MORE: Sky Sports fans can save £216 on their bill, here's three other reasons you'll want to pick itREAD MORE: Jurgen Klopp's reason for snubbing Man Utd job after secret talks with Sir Alex FergusonThat support will be put to the test today when United's football leadership team, which includes Berrada, Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox, meet at the club's London offices. Also present will be United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his right-hand man, Sir Dave Brailsford, making up a five-man team that will ultimately decide Ten Hag's fate.
A few hours after Berrada and Ashworth's show of support for Ten Hag, United were humbled 3-0 at home by arch rivals Liverpool. Since then, things have gone from bad to worse for the embattled Dutchman. United find themselves down in 14th place in the table, with eight points from seven games representing their worst start to a Premier League campaign, and a goal difference of minus three.
They have five goals from seven games – their fewest for 52 years – and have failed to score in their last three league outings. They have played 11 matches this season and only beaten Fulham, Southampton and Barnsley. While today's meeting in Mayfair is a pre-planned, monthly affair, one topic will be at the top of the agenda – whether to stick or twist with Ten Hag.
After Sunday's drab 0-0 draw at Aston Villa, Ten Hag repeated his mantra that he and the United hierarchy are aligned in their thinking, that they share the same long-term vision and all agreed when they began working together in the summer that there would be no quick-fix to the team's problems.
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Ten Hag could hardly say otherwise, could he? But set against the backdrop of alarming regression this season, he has real cause for concern and will learn in the next 48 hours whether he still retains the support of his bosses, after they reach a decision on whether they need a new voice and a new vision in the dressing-room.
If Ratcliffe's recent public utterances on Ten Hag are an indicator of how the United hierarchy are thinking, then the 54-year-old should start making plans to say his goodbyes and clear his desk at the club's training complex.
Asked if he still had faith in Ten Hag, Ratcliffe said: "I don’t want to answer that question. I like Erik. I think he's a very good coach, but at the end of the day it's not my call. It's the management team that's running Manchester United that has to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.”
Rather than publicly backing Ten Hag, as Berrada did, Ratcliffe's response suggested a shift in stance among the United hierarchy with regard to the manager, one that does not bode well for the former Ajax boss.
Chiefly, those at today's summit must decide whether they can see any improvement under Ten Hag going forward or whether he has had enough time and enough funds - £600million over five transfer windows – for the team to be performing better than they currently are under him.
Triggering Ten Hag's one-year contract extension in the summer, having unashamedly spoken to potential replacements including Thomas Tuchel, was hardly a ringing endorsement of their manager, who has effectively been a dead man walking ever since. In the next 48 hours Ten Hag will learn if he has been granted a stay of execution or ends up a condemned man, like his immediate predecessors at United.
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