Erik ten Hag’s second season at Manchester United is not going according to plan and certainly is not following the trajectory he set in his first year at the club.
Ten Hag’s first season at Old Trafford saw the Dutchman exceed expectations completely, guiding his side to a third-place finish and ending the club’s six-year wait for silverware.
United were not given a chance to achieve anything significant going into that season but Ten Hag managed to take a damaged squad and breathe some life into it.
It looked like United were well on their way to getting where they wanted but that progress has stagnated this year, with the Reds winning four and losing as many in their opening eight Premier League games. Additionally, they are without any points in the Champions League after two rounds of fixtures.
Speaking recently, David Beckham has become the latest figure to comment on Ten Hag and the legendary winger admits that although he is a fan of Ten Hag as a coach, all of the talk surrounding a potential club sale may be a distraction.
“I think he’s [Ten Hag] a good coach,” Beckham told Sky Sports, via the Manchester Evening News.
“It is a difficult time at the moment, but there’s a lot of noise around the club at the moment so it can’t be easy for him.
“We all want that noise to go away, we all want a decision to be made for the club, for the fans, for the players and for the manager as well because we are one of, if not the, biggest club in the world. We want stability and I think that’s the most important thing.
“We all have our own favourites of who we feel needs to run the club and look after the club and take the club back to where it belongs but in our eyes, in the fans’ eyes, we’re number one and we want to be back at the top. I believe I know the right people to do that.”
Ten Hag was afforded some breathing room after his side’s dramatic last-minute show against Brentford earlier this weekend when two goals from Scott McTominay in stoppage time earned United three huge points.
Speaking after the game, Ten Hag admitted that United must use that result to turn their season around and that’s the simplicity of the matter.
United cannot afford to let their current performance levels continue or they risk yet another season of going backwards and dropping out of the Champions League.
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