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Dutch legend Willem van Hanegem has poured scorn on Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s reign despite the recent FA Cup success.
The former Ajax manager enjoyed a successful first season in England as he guided his side to a Carabao cup trophy and a third-place finish in the league.
However, his second season has been much more challenging as his side finished eighth in the league and were pitifully dumped out of the Champions League before Christmas as they ended the group with only four points.
Ten Hag’s future has been the subject of much speculation and there were reports before the final that United had already decided to sack him.
Even a spectacular win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final has not been enough to quell such rumours as he admitted after the game in his post-match interviews that he was in the dark over where his future lies.
Whilst the cup victory is said to have emboldened some of his supporters in the United hierarchy, there is still a strong school of thought that suggests United will sack the Dutchman and bring in a replacement with Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino or Kieran McKenna all seen as potential options to take the Old Trafford hotseat.
One man who was not so impressed by the manager’s achievements at Wembley was former Feyenoord player, Van Hanegem.
Writing in his column for the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, the pundit criticised Ten Hag for defending his performance at the club.
The United manager has admitted that results have not been good enough but has firmly stated over and over that he is doing a good job at the club and if they do not want him, he will go and win elsewhere.
Commenting on Ten Hag’s time in Manchester, Van Hanegem wrote, “He won the FA Cup and he pretended that he had been doing well there in England for two seasons.
“How can you say that? He brought in the wrong players for a hell of a fortune. Manchester United’s football hurts the eyes.
“In the semi-final, the whole of England were in stitches because Coventry City came back from 3-0 down to 3-3. Ten Hag’s team were on the brink of getting knocked out but they eventually made it because a Coventry player was offside by a millimetre.
“Then you win the cup and then suddenly, you are right.”
Whilst Van Hanegem does raise some valid points about the FA Cup victory glossing over a poor season, his snarky tone seems to indicate that his observations are clouded by some personal animosity.
Not even Ten Hag’s biggest detractor can claim that he didn’t get his tactics spot on, especially in the first half against Manchester City.
The victory was sensational and one of the most spectacular FA Cup final performances the club has ever produced and the Dutchman must receive his credit for that, even if it is ultimately not enough to save his job.
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