EPL

Ten Hag 'not thinking' about being sacked as Man Utd suffer Spurs humiliation

By Sports Desk September 30, 2024

Erik ten Hag is not thinking about the possibility that Manchester United will sack him after their dreadful start to the season continued with Sunday's 3-0 loss to Tottenham.

United suffered yet another humiliating Old Trafford defeat on matchday six, with Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scoring in a routine win for Spurs, while the Red Devils saw captain Bruno Fernandes sent off shortly before half-time.

Ten Hag's side were also beaten 3-0 by Liverpool on their last home Premier League outing, making this the first time they have lost back-to-back home league games without scoring since November 2021.

Those two matches – a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool and a 2-0 loss to Manchester City – proved to be Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's final home games in charge.

Meanwhile, United's seven points are their joint-fewest after six games of any Premier League season (two wins, one draw, three losses), having made identical starts under David Moyes in 2013-14 and Solskjaer in 2020-21.

Despite speculation over his future continuing to grow, Ten Hag – who signed a new contract in pre-season – is not worried he will suffer the same fate as his predecessors.

Asked in his post-match press conference if he was worried about his future, Ten Hag said: "No, I am not thinking about this. 

"We all made this decision to stay together, as an ownership, as a leadership group in the summer, also we made decisions from a clear review about what we have to improve and how we want to construct a squad.

"But we knew it would take some time... how the window went, some players came in late like [Manuel] Ugarte. 

"Also, we have to make some improvements in our organisation, we have some injuries, we need some time.

"We are all on one page or in one boat together, the ownership, the staff and the players as well. I don't have that concern."

 

United fell behind to Johnson's opener within just 155 seconds, the earliest they have conceded in the Premier League since August 2023 versus Nottingham Forest (88 seconds).

Having gone 2-0 down within two minutes of the restart, United conceded in the first three minutes of both halves in a single Premier League match for just the second time, also doing so against Leeds United in February 2023.

Spurs generated a huge expected goals (xG) figure of 4.59 on Sunday – the third-highest United have allowed a Premier League opponent since such records began in 2009.

Only versus Arsenal in December 2017 (a 3-1 win) and against City in October 2011 (an infamous 6-1 loss at Old Trafford), have United given up a greater quality of chances in a Premier League match.

Speaking in his role as a Sky Sports pundit, former United defender Gary Neville slammed their performance, saying: "Today has shocked me, how low they've gone. It was a really bad one.

"I know that David Moyes had some bad ones in the early days, so has Ole along the way, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ralf Rangnick... but that felt like one of those days where they sank really low. It's one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag. And that is saying something. It is really bad."

 

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