Man Utd chief Arnold's private thoughts on Ten Hag emerge amid sack calls
Erik ten Hag will NOT be sacked by Manchester United after the derby defeat to Manchester City as he retains the faith of the club hierarchy.
The Red Devils slipped to a 3-0 defeat to their cross-city rivals on Sunday afternoon - Erling Haaland scoring a brace as Phil Foden wrapped up proceedings. Defeat leaves Man United languishing in eighth in the Premier League after losing five out of their opening 10 matches for the first time.
That has seen the pressure crank up on Ten Hag just a year and a half after his arrival from Dutch giants Ajax. There have been some calls that he could be sacked despite under two years left to run on his current deal, with a club option of a further campaign.
It appears that there is no current appetite to cut Ten Hag adrift though. According to the Manchester Evening News, he retains the faith of chief executive Richard Arnold.
He has told interested observers that the Red Devils are still making “good progress” under Ten Hag despite their poor start to the campaign. Arnold attended the defeat to Man City at Old Trafford on Sunday.
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It was an uncomfortable evening for Ten Hag as fans appeared to turn after a few questionable decisions. Supporters questioned his initial line up against Pep Guardiola’s side, while Rasmus Hojlund’s substitution was also roundly booed in the stadium.
The pressure has cranked up on Erik ten Hag over the past 24 hours (Getty Images)What has gone wrong for Man United this season? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Despite his side’s poor form and talk over his position, Ten Hag has suggested that his side will be back to their best sooner rather than later. Speaking after the game, he said: “The three games before we won, and the spirit is very good, so I think we are on the way up.
“The start was difficult but we are on the way up. I am sure when we have some injured players coming back then our side will be stronger. We have to be patient.”
Ten Hag will hope that his prediction is proven right swiftly. United face a repeat of last season’s Carabao Cup final with a third round tie against Newcastle in midweek.
They then have a trip to Craven Cottage for a clash with Fulham at the weekend. Away from his defiant message, the United boss claimed that his side are incapable of playing the excellent football that Ten Hag put together with former club Ajax.
He added: "We will never play that football. Because those were different players. This is also not why I came here. We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to, because I can't play the same way.
"The players decide how you play. Ajax has a very typical and characteristic style of play, with Manchester United I will always show different football, I did so last year as well. We play much more direct football here because I have the players for that here."
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