Man Utd sack manager Ten Hag; Ruud van Nistelrooy named interim manager

BBC Sport, October 28 — Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag following the club's poor start to the season.

Ten Hag's final game was Sunday's 2-1 defeat at West Ham that left the club 14th in the Premier League with just three wins from their opening nine matches.

United are also 21st of 36 teams in the Europa League table, having drawn their three opening fixtures.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined the club as Ten Hag's assistant last summer, has been named as interim manager.

The club said Van Nistelrooy would be in charge "while a permanent head coach is recruited".

Ten Hag was informed of the decision by chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth during a face-to-face meeting at the club's Carrington training ground on Monday morning.

Club sources have stressed this was a difficult decision but a unanimous one.

"Thanks for everything, boss," United captain Bruno Fernandes wrote on Instagram.

"I appreciate the trust and the moments we share together, I wish you all the best in the future."

The club triggered a one-year extension in Ten Hag's contract following May's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City but just over three months later he has been dismissed.

United have their second-lowest Premier League points tally after nine games, with 11 points (they had 10 at this stage in the 2019-20 campaign).

The club are now seeking their sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Former Ajax boss Ten Hag, 54, took charge in the summer of 2022 and led the club to third place in the Premier League in his first season.

He also guided United to their first piece of silverware in six seasons with a 2-0 win against Newcastle United in the 2023 Carabao Cup final and finished runners-up in the FA Cup final, losing 2-1 to Manchester City.

His second season in charge started poorly, with United finishing bottom of their Champions League group in the autumn but they picked up a trophy, beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose £1.25bn investment for 27.7% of the club was ratified in February of this year, told BBC Sport the club's problems extended far beyond the role of the manager.

"In the past 11 years, Manchester United have had a lot of coaches and nobody has been successful in that environment," said Ratcliffe. "That says to me there is something wrong with the environment."

But a poor start to the campaign, which has seen United win just one of their past eight matches in all competitions, has forced the board to act.

After Ratcliffe's investment was confirmed, Ineos took over football operations at Old Trafford and quickly began a restructure with Dan Ashworth appointed sporting director, Omar Berrada as the new chief executive and Jason Wilcox as technical director.

The manner of United’s unexpected FA Cup win last season meant Ten Hag was given the opportunity to work within a new sporting structure but neither the results nor the performances have been good enough across last season and into this one.

The club's hierarchy wanted to have continuity at a time of significant change, but have not seen the momentum and progress they wanted and sources stress there are no excuses for the current situation.