‘Under huge pressure’ – Roy Keane gives verdict on Erik ten Hag’s future

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane is hopeful that Erik ten Hag is “given more time” to turn things around at Old Trafford.

There has been no shortage of speculation over Ten Hag’s future after a dismal second season in charge at United. The Reds could still win the FA Cup but that is our only route into Europe next season.

With two games left to play in the league, United are positioned eighth in the table which would be our lowest-ever Premier League finish.

Ten Hag has not received public backing from the club’s new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a result. It is believed that INEOS will give serious consideration to the manager’s position at the end of the season.

Ratcliffe and co are unlikely to make a decision before the end of the current campaign. That means Ten Hag will definitely remain in charge for the FA Cup final against Man City.

Keane is hopeful that Ten Hag is “given more time” due to the problems that exist at United.

“I hope he’s given more time,” Keane told Sky Sports when asked if Ten Hag should be sacked for United’s poor results this season, as quoted by Yahoo Sports.

“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.

“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.”

United’s all-time top goalscorer Wayne Rooney was also in the studio. He was in agreement with Keane when it came to Ten Hag, saying:  “I personally hope they do give him time because there are a lot of problems at the club.

“Recruitment is massive and it hasn’t been good enough so I do think he gets time to do it right.

“But we’ve seen it before, we won the cup final in 2016 and Louis van Gaal lost his job so you never know.”