It is now just a question of when Erik ten Hag will be sacked by Manchester United in the wake of Sunday’s embarrassing FA Cup semi-final against Coventry that saw the Premier League giants come within a whisker of being dumped out.
The Red Devils looked home and hosed when Bruno Fernandes scored early in the second half to add to first-half goals by Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire and put Manchester United into a commanding 3-0 lead. However, the Championship outfit are made of stern stuff and mounted an incredible late comeback to make it 3-3 and take the game into extra-time.
The Sky Blues, FA Cup winners in 1987, then came within a whisker of winning it when a last-gasp strike by Victor Torp was ruled out by the narrowest of offside margins, allowing United to then go on and beat Coventry 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
However, the performance in allowing Coventry to come back from such a big margin has done little for Ten Hag’s reputation and his chances of retaining the United hotseat for the long-term.
The Dutchman has been under serious pressure for weeks, with our exclusive being the first to break the news that many inside Old Trafford believe Ten Hag is already a deadman walking. And amid claims that some of his players have stopped playing for him, that certainly played out before our eyes at Wembley on Sunday.
And with both Roy Keane and Ian Wright among those tearing into United for their woeful surrender, a Liverpool legend has now stirred the pot, suggesting it is now only a matter of time before the axe falls at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag sack: Man Utd players left embarrassed
Indeed, Jamie Carragher feels the United collapse was so bad that that performance alone will be enough to cost Ten Hag his job.
And reflecting on how Coventry boss Mark Robins once scored a goal to keep Sir Alex Ferguson in the United hotseat, Jamie Carragher now thinks the sands of time are running out for Ten Hag.
“We were watching at the end there and Mark Robins famously kept a Man United manager in a job, I think that result today has just cost a Man United manager his job. I don’t see how he stays, I don’t,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“It’s just performance after performance and that is just like (gestures). I would imagine that dressing room is probably the most embarrassed dressing room you could probably remember of a team who has won a big game.
“Can you imagine that dressing room when you go in they’re all sat there looking each other, they don’t know whether to celebrate, is it a big thing that you’re in a cup final and got through? They’re probably all just sat there looking at each other.”
Ten Hag is now through to a second successive FA Cup final and will lead United out for a fifth time at Wembley since his appointment.
However, with some supporters even calling for minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe to wield the axe now, before the FA Cup final against Manchester City takes place on May 25, the debacle appears to have only raised more questions over the Dutchman’s ability to lead United for the long term.
Roy Keane also believes Man Utd will sack Ten Hag
United legend Roy Keane agreed with that view that Ten Hag will likely be on his way come the season’s end.
“Manchester United play in moments, they always give you chances. We’ve seen it already in the FA Cup this season with the games against Wigan and Newport County. Maguire said he saw character but I don’t see character,” he told ITV Sport.
“I’m almost getting to the point where I don’t like them. I’m seeing bad habits. The goalkeeper is wasting time at 2-0 up, get on with the game and go and flex your muscles. They’ll be celebrating getting to a cup final tonight but all this does is put more pressure on the manager.”
Ten Hag himself also admitted the manner of their victory was unacceptable, but did praise his players for showing the steel to win the penalty shootout.
