Ten Hag sack: Man Utd manager’s fate sealed after monumental call as five players are torn apart for being ‘unprofessional’

Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, manager Erik ten Hag

Manchester United have decided that Erik ten Hag will NOT be sacked prior to the FA Cup final but have made a huge decision on his long-term future  – while five Red Devils stars are under the spotlight after seemingly being labelled as “unprofessional” by the Dutchman.

Ten Hag has overseen a disastrous campaign for Manchester United with the club now having no chance of qualifying for the Champions League and currently on track to claim their lowest-ever points tally recorded in Premier League history. Their season sunk to a desperate new low on Monday evening as Crystal Palace put them to the sword at a rocking Selhurst Park, with Michael Olise running the show and scoring twice for Oliver Glasner’s ever-improving Eagles.

And with new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe currently having tasked technical director Jason Wilcox with performing a thorough audit over whether the Dutchman should continue in charge into a third season, calls for his removal as manager have now reached fever pitch.

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Those demands for his instant removal as manager have been led by two former players in Michael Owen and Paul Scholes, both of whom were left aghast by what they witnessed on Monday evening.

And a worried Owen believes Ratcliffe needs to wield the axe with immediate effect, calling for United’s current number two, Steve McClaren, to be given the role until the end of the season and to ensure they can salvage some joy from their wreckage of the season in the May 25 FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley.

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“I’ve said it for a long time that Ten Hag is not the right man for this job, I’ve been saying it for ages and ages,” Owen told Premier League Productions after United’s Selhurst Park hammering.

“He cannot, simply cannot, manage the team next season.

“I almost wonder now, they’ve got a cup final and they’ve got a few important games that could mean European football next year or not.

“At some point you’ve got to make a decision, they’re going to get absolutely hammered by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], they’re going to get annihilated, in fact, Arsenal will smash them to bits at Old Trafford, Newcastle will probably beat them and I wouldn’t even fancy them going to Brighton either. They might not get anything out of the rest of the season, playing like that.

“I just wonder there’s just so much at stake, even if it’s only for four games, I wonder whether the board might just have to try to do something here and now and be quite radical about it.

“He cannot, simply cannot, manage this team next season. He’s not good enough. I’ve thought it for ages, and he’s just not good enough to manage Manchester United.”

When it was suggested that McClaren, Ten Hag’s assistant, should replace him on an interim basis, Owen replied: “They’ve got to try something different. Anything. Yes.”

Explaining how he could stop the rot, Owen added: “We’ve played under Steve McClaren, he’s coached us, there’s no way that his fingerprints are anywhere near that team.

“He is a brilliant, brilliant coach and that team is not being coached at all. No way Steve McClaren is the first-team coach.”

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Scholes then added: “It suggests to me he’s not touching that team. The manager [Ten Hag] must not be letting him touch that team, I don’t think.

“Everyone thinks we were a great team that attacked everyone and went at people, sometimes we played against better teams and Steve McClaren put better sessions on to make sure you stopped other teams, getting the distances right, getting your angles right, especially in centre midfield, across all midfield.

“And he has got no impression on that [Ten Hag] team whatsoever. He’s the best coach I ever had.”

Owen then said of McClaren: “He’s a brilliant, brilliant coach. There’s no way on earth he’s got anything to do with coaching that team. It’s impossible. Because that team is absolutely clueless, right the way through it. There’s not one thing I think works in that team. I don’t rate anything about it.

“Steve McClaren is a top operator and I can only think he’s there and there’s other people are coaching the first team and he’s just a bystander.”

Asked about the prospects of McClaren taking charge of United for their final four games, Owen said: “For four games, yeah… anything.

“They’re going to get smashed out of the ball park by every team playing like that today.

“Manchester City are going to demoralise them at Wembley in front of millions of people, it’s just embarrassing how they’re playing, something’s got to change, I know it’s going to change in the summer but I think it’s got to change now. There’s European football next year, this is a trophy.”

Ten Hag: Man Utd sack fate sealed

Despite those strong calls for his instant removal, the Daily Telegraph insists Ratcliffe has told Ten Hag he won’t be sacked now, with a decision on his future to be delayed until once the current campaign draws to a close.

Furthermore, while their loss at Crystal Palace was their 13th loss of the season – a new record amount for the Red Devils – he will be given the chance to lead the team out in the FA Cup final and potentially win a second trophy of his reign.

However, the report adds that many of United’s first-team squad now expect Ten Hag to be sacked come the summer and that the decision to remove him as manager has already been made once the campaign draws to a close.

As a result, the Ten Hag era at Old Trafford now seemingly has just four games left to run – with home matches against Arsenal and Newcastle coming next, before they end their Premier League campaign at Brighton on May 19 – six days before the cup final.

Asked on Monday if he believes he’s the right man to lead the Red DEvils, Ten Hag said: “Absolutely. If the right players are there, so available, then we have a good squad. But we miss almost the full back line, then we have problems..”

Ten Hag rages at five Man Utd players after Palace defeat

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail claims Ten Hag absolutely tore into his squad in the Selhurst Park dressing room following their 4-0 hammering, with five players in particular feeling the brunt of his anger.

The Dutchman was reportedly raging at the way United allowed Olise to waltz through their defence to stroke home their opening goal, admitting to the press afterwards.

“Professionals shouldn’t allow this. It was such an easy giveaway goal.

“Five players over the ball when they have a throw-in and it’s not the first time this season.

“I know we have young players, but even young players should learn when they play in the first-team they should take responsibility.”

While Ten Hag did not name the players in question, Jamie Carragher’s analysis for Sky Sports after the game seemed to identify exactly who the beleaguered Dutchman was referring to.

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Kobbie Mainoo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho and Mason Mount were the players Carragher highlighted.

The Sky Sports pundit then hit out at Eriksen’s positioning on the throw-in that led to Olise receiving the ball, claiming he would ‘argue night and day with Erik ten Hag’ that the Dane’s position at the throw-in was wrong.

He then added: “What is Wan-Bissaka doing there, just doing nothing. He could easily go in there (in front of Jean-Phillipe Mateta) and Mainoo can go there (in front of Olise).

“But again, leadership, organisation, no one taking responsibility. Eriksen gets thrown to the floor, Casemiro was just a joke, how does he run that far with no one getting near him (Olise).”

Carragher then said of Mainoo, who has earned widespread praise for his performances this season: “He thinks he’s doing a good job, he’s trying to protect. You’ve got Wan-Bissaka and Jonny Evans, two experienced players and they have got to be telling him to move.”