LONDON – Erik ten Hag said “I don't know” when asked if he has a future at Manchester United following their FA Cup final victory against Manchester City on Saturday, but his body language as he cradled the trophy in front of the The club's supporters hinted at what he really knew after months of speculation that he would be replaced as manager. This should have been his best moment since he arrived from Ajax two years ago, but it seems likely that he will also be his last.
Ten Hag, 54, patted the United crest on his club jacket as if it touched his heart and then waved to fans in various directions. If it wasn't an emotional farewell, it was certainly a strange way to celebrate winning a second trophy in two seasons as manager.
Before that, he had individually hugged his players at the final whistle, but they were not celebratory hugs, but rather expressions of gratitude, consoling pats on the back. His conversations with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, the two English defenders who missed the 2-1 win at Wembley against City due to injury, sounded like a father telling his son that everything would be fine in the future.
There was less personal warmth with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's minority owner, as Ten Hag collected the cup in the Royal Box. A professional handshake is probably the best way to describe it.
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The backdrop for the post-match scenes was provided by the pre-match build-up. A report on Friday claimed that Ten Hag would be sacked by United regardless of the outcome of the Cup final.
Eight years ago, Louis van Gaal suffered the same fate: the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach was dismissed 48 hours after the 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace and replaced by José Mourinho. If the same happens to Ten Hag – United have not confirmed reports that he will be sacked – it will seem a particularly brutal end to a two-year reign that initially promised a lot but fizzled out in its second season.
However, United's new minority owners, Ratcliffe's INEOS Group, have commissioned an in-depth review of all football matters at Old Trafford and the verdict will be based on what happened in the weeks and months leading up to the Cup final. . If Ten Hag loses his job, it will be because a hugely expensive team finished eighth in the Premier League, was knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage and infuriated their fans with a series of inexplicably poor performances.
Beating Pep Guardiola's City, four-time Premier League champions, is by far Ten Hag's biggest victory, but the reality is that he left it too late, to the point that it seems like an anomaly, something that doesn't come close in absolute. enough to nullify the evidence accumulated against him.
It's a confusing situation.
United have not denied that they have evaluated alternative managers in recent months, including England manager Gareth Southgate, Brentford's Thomas Frank and Ipswich's Kieran McKenna, but have also said that INEOS are planning next season with Ten Hag in mind. Half an hour after telling the BBC at Wembley that he did not know if he would be at United next season, he said in his press conference that he had been told he is part of the plans.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Ten Hag asked the media members. “Every time it's the same question, do I have to repeat myself 10, 15, 20 times? They don't have to tell me every week if they tell me so often. I heard it many times.”
Time will tell, but a statement from the club on a quiet day in the coming weeks thanking Ten Hag for his efforts would not be a surprise. That's football and he knows it as well as anyone who has made a living in this sport.
However, if this is your last hit, way to go. An FA Cup victory against United's rivals, thanks to goals from two of his teenage stars.
Ten Hag has turned Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo (both 19) into regular first-team starters during his tenure. They are the bright lights of United's future.
While they may not yet warrant comparisons to Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo when they became United first-team stars 20 years ago, Ten Hag certainly deserves credit for trusting them to perform. However, this season he has been unable to elicit such high-level performances from his established players, including Marcus Rashford, Casemiro and Raphaël Varane.
If Ten Hag is to be replaced, his successor will have two gems to polish in Garnacho and Mainoo.
Garnacho put United ahead when he capitalized on a mix-up between City's Josko Gvardiol and goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in the 30th minute. The Argentine winger helped create Mainoo's second nine minutes later with a run down the right followed by a pass to Bruno Fernandes , who brilliantly assisted Mainoo with a first pass.
Sofyan Amrabat's experience alongside Mainoo in midfield was key, helping United defend against City's powerful engine room. Ten Hag deserves a thumbs up for selecting the Moroccan international in this match.
Although Jérémy Doku's 87th-minute goal, which too easily beat goalkeeper André Onana at the near post, ensured a tense finale for United, Ten Hag's players held on to win the Cup for the first time in eight years and add the second. trophies in two seasons for the Dutchman.
“When I started here I said I was here to win and I also wanted to build a team and I'm doing both,” Ten Hag said. “But if they don't want me anymore, I'll go somewhere else and win games and trophies.”
Defiant to the end, and Ten Hag has earned the right to be.
While this felt like the start of something, it also felt like a curtain call. Varane leaves as a free agent, Amrabat will return to Fiorentina at the end of his loan spell and question marks hang over the futures of Rashford, Casemiro, Maguire, Victor Lindelöf, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and more.
However, the biggest deviation will almost certainly be that of Ten Hag. Deep down, he knows how it works, and not even an FA Cup victory over Manchester City will be enough to save him.
