Gary Lineker believes Erik ten Hag’s time is up at Manchester United. The Red Devils were embarrassed on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford as they were trashed 3-0 by relegation candidates Bournemouth.
United got off to the worst possible start when Dominic Solanke flicked a low cross past Andre Onana in the fifth minute to open up the scoring. Phillip Billing then doubled the visitors’ lead in the 68th minute before Marcos Sensei piled on the misery five minutes later.
And United could have lost by an even larger margin if it wasn’t for VAR’s intervention with Luis Sinisterra’s added time strike chalked off for a handball. Ten Hag’s men looked a far cry away from the side that battled so admirably against Chelsea in midweek.
Barely any of the team besides Marcus Rashford, who put on a spirited display off the bench, looked like they were up for the game and questions will now be asked of the manager once again.
Ten Hag is facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford with problems both on and off the pitch. Besides their inconsistent performances, there are also reports of a dressing room revolt over the Dutchman’s handling of his players’ concerns.
Ten Hag may have scooped the manager of the month award for November but today’s results will no doubt put his position in jeopardy. Lineker thinks this could be the end of the road for the ex-Ajax boss as he took to social media to pose the question: “Has anyone ever won manager of the month and lost their job in the same weekend?”
Yet Ten Hag insists he is still the right man for the job. He remains in constant communication with CEO Richard Arnold about the alarming situation at Old Trafford while Arnold is reportedly reluctant to sack Ten Hag because of the success he engineered during his maiden campaign.
Arnold’s reluctance is coupled with a unanimous feeling among the board that they do not need the distraction of a change in management while they look to push through Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s offer for a 25 per cent stake in the club. However, when Ratcliffe does eventually maintain control of footballing operations at the club Ten Hag’s neck could be on the chopping block.