We’ve been here before. Heading into an FA Cup final with a Dutch manager facing a never-ending avalanche of questions about his future, and Manchester United reportedly lining up a replacement.
Let’s just hope the omens are good. The Red Devils were victorious back in 2016, defeating Crystal Palace and stopping Alan Pardew’s merry jig mid-flow as Jesse Lingard ensured that the Louis van Gaal era ended with drops of champagne falling from the Wembley sky.
Will theErik ten Hag reign end in a similarly celebratory tone?
That depends, of course, if Manchester United can take revenge on bitter rivals Man City and do on Saturday what they could not do 12 months ago in a repeat of last year’s FA Cup decider.
Manchester United eye Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna
The speculation surrounding Ten Hag’s future is a distraction United could have done without, of course, The Times adding to the uncertainty on Thursday when they reported that a four-strong list of replacements had been drawn up.
On that supposed list is Brentford boss Thomas Frank, a suddenly free-agent Mauricio Pochettino, 2021 Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel and also a man who formed part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick’s backroom staff at Old Trafford.
Kieran McKenna, just 38 and never having taken sole charge of a club above Championship level, would obviously be the most eyebrow-raising of the appointments.
Simon Jordan, the former chairman-turned-pundit, is wary of a classic case of ‘too much too soon’ at a time in which Vincent Kompany is heading to Bayern Munich and Chelsea are weighing up a move for Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca.
“I think neither one of those managers (McKenna and Maresca) are qualified to be able to operate at that level. They’ve just taken teams out of the Championship. They are very young managers,” ex-Crystal Palace chief Jordan tells talkSPORT (23 May, 10am).
“I sincerely hope Kieran McKenna does not fall into the trap that so many managers fall into, which is ‘I can’t resist the opportunity’.”
Erik ten Hag could leave after FA Cup final
McKenna, the BBC Sport says, feels he may have taken Ipswich as far as he can after the glory of successive promotions. The Northern Irishman is unlikely to sign fresh terms at Portman Road.
Jordan, however, feels that McKenna should not see Man United’s interest as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As Kompany’s impending switch to Bavaria shows, a burgeoning reputation and a penchant for pretty passing football can survive even relegation.
“Back yourself. You’ve just seen the preposterous position of Vincent Kompany going from Burnley to Bayern Munich, so the rulebook is being torn up. People are willing to make exceptions for people’s willingness to try and play a certain way,” Jordan adds.
“Both (Maresca and McKenna) have done really well. The phenomenal story is Kieran McKenna. I still think Kieran McKenna should be staying at Ipswich. (People will say) ‘He can’t miss out on that opportunity. Of course he has to go!’
“Well, no, of course he does not have to go!”
Like Tuchel and Pochettino, another of the managers reportedly on Man United’s radar has now left his club. Bologna confirmed thedeparture of Thiago Motta on Thursday, just after sealing Champions League qualification for the very first time.