Erik ten Hag might not be the man to end Manchester United’s decade-plus wait for Premier League glory. But, then again, who is?
There is certainly no shortage of talented head coaches under consideration by Ineos. But can any of them really be considered an obvious upgrade on the man who, a disastrous league season aside, has just guided Manchester United to two trophies in two seasons?
A man who out-thought Pep Guardiola at Wembley?
Kieran McKenna may be a world-class tactician in the making, but the man reportedly at the forefront of Ineos’ thinking remains entirely unproven in sole charge of a Premier League team. Ruben Amorim has never coached outside of Portugal. Roberto de Zerbi‘s Brighton would have finished level with Everton had Sean Dyche’s team not copped a points deduction.
And Thomas Tuchel, while a proven ‘winner’, has just led Bayern Munich to third place in the Bundesliga, meaning Harry Kane will not even have the German Super Cup as a route to end his career-long trophy drought.
As for Mauricio Pochettino, former chairman-turned-pundit Simon Jordan feels the man who departed Chelsea in shock circumstances last week would be an upgrade on Erik ten Hag. But not enough of an upgrade to reduce the gap between Man United and the Premier League’s title challengers.
Manchester United must make Erik ten Hag decision
“You could make the argument that Pochettino should be in the thinking. I don’t think he should be because I don’t think he’s the ultimate winner,” Jordan tells talkSPORT (28 May, 10am), the Argentine still yet to win a trophy in England after losing to City in the EFL Cup final.
“Do I think he’s better than Ten Hag? Yeah, I do. Do I think that Man United need to build in incremental steps, and accept it’s going to take a period of time? Do I think Ten Hag can make those incremental steps? No I don’t.
“I am not judging Ten Hag for winning a cup competition. I am looking at Man United and saying where are they in the league?
“Pochettino might give you better results than Ten Hag but I don’t think he takes you to the promised land.”
If reports are to be believed, Ineos will conduct an end-of-season review this week, Ten Hag’s future to be determined in the process. With McKenna allegedly set to sign a new long-term deal at Ipswich Town, however, the man who appeared to be emerging as a leading candidate to take the Dutchman’s place seems likely to remove his name from the frame.
Much to Jordan’s delight.
Kieran McKenna set for Ipswich Town stay
“I literally said ‘well done’ when I saw the announcement,” former Crystal Palace chief Jordan says, delighted to hear that McKenna is committing himself to the club who gave him his break in senior management back in 2021.
“I am very pleased. What you’re seeing, at 38 years of age, is a manager who is going to be a big success. He gets the reality of what he should be doing, that’s why his side have taken two-and-a-half years to get out of League One and into the Premier League.
“He will build a successful foundation at Ipswich because he’s got the right principles. He will be a big manager.”
Vincent Kompany’s impending move from Burnley to Bayern Munich, meanwhile, is proof that – even if you fall short in your pursuit of survival – your reputation can still emerge unscathed. McKenna, barring a truly disastrous campaign for Ipswich, is likely to be a man in high demand again in the near future.
Particularly if Ten Hag cannot build on Saturday’s Wembley triumph in 2024/25.
“I think (McKenna) has made the right decision,” Jordan adds. “People will say; ‘He could have gone to Man United, he could have gone to Chelsea’.
But he also could have gone into the Premier League, backed yourself, and laid down an even bigger marker. If Ipswich do anything resembling a half-decent season, imagine where his stock is going to be.
“I think he’s shown something very rarely seen in football managers. A bit of grounding. A bit of thinking. ‘I’m 38 years of age, I’ve got lots of time, I know what I’m doing, I back myself, I back the environment I’m in’.
“I actually think he will be better for it.”