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Sir Jim Ratcliffe will attend Manchester United’s match against Aston Villa in Birmingham on Sunday, with Erik ten Hag walking a tightrope over his job as manager.
The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell confirmed this morning that Sir Jim would be present at the game and that he will have the final say over whether Ten Hag will be sacked.
“Ultimately, it will be Ratcliffe who decides Ten Hag’s fate, in concert with Sir Dave Brailsford and Joel Glazer, taking recommendations from chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth,” Whitwell writes, after noting that tonight’s match against FC Porto and Sunday’s game could be make or break for the United boss.
The reporter says that there is “daily dialogue” between key figures, suggesting perhaps some manoeuvring in regard to the managerial situation.
Whitwell is adamant though that although two more bad results could lead to a decision being made during the international break, “several sources insist those at the top of United are taking a long-term view whatever happens in the next four days.”
While Ruud van Nistelrooy is seen by many as an obvious candidate to replace Ten Hag on an interim basis, Whitwell says there is an issue there, in that the United legend was a Ten Hag appointment rather than one made by Ineos.
The implication is that the executives might want to make a clean sweep should the trigger be pulled and Van Nistelrooy’s fate could therefore be inextricably linked with that of his countryman.
One of Ten Hag’s lieutenants last season, Benni McCarthy, has said the players do not necessarily understand or buy into the manager’s system and tactics and this is corroborated by Whitwell, who says “these are the kinds of doubts players have expressed privately since Ten Hag took charge, and after a bad opening to the campaign those concerns remain for some.”
Most fans will be perplexed to hear that Sir Jim may still not pull the plug even if United lose these next two games. Many would understand that Ineos want time for the new structure to bed down, but would argue that since pretty much everything except the manager has changed, yet the results and performances have stayed the same, then it is obvious where the issue lies.
There is also the suggestion that by contrast, possibly even one good result either tonight or on Sunday will almost certainly be enough to buy the manager more time. And as Whitwell points out, “He has a habit at United of producing a result at just the right moment.”
Tonight could be that moment for Ten Hag. Although Porto are doing well in the league and won the Portuguese Super Cup against Sporting, they were extremely poor in their opening Europa League game, losing 3-2 to Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt, who were down to 10 men for most of the second half.
They are struggling to replace the legendary Pepe in defence and have only played one top team in the league so far, losing 2-0 to Sporting. Even in the Super Cup victory against Ruben Amorim’s men, they shipped three goals, winning 4-3.
It would not be a surprise, therefore, to see United grab three points this evening and if Whitwell is right, this could buy Ten Hag quite a bit more time in the Old Trafford dugout.
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