Erik ten Hag has guided Manchester United through a very difficult season and came out the other side, with a trophy, and his job.
Even though it was a painful process to get to the end of the season, there is something to be admired about the way Erik ten Hag kept his Manchester United squad together.
The pressure was intense during a campaign in which the team lost 14 Premier League matches. Pundits queued up to lambast and question him, while pressure from fans on social media followed.
And then, because it is Manchester United, there were a couple of issues behind the scenes too, which would have spelled the end for managers in the past.
Former Manchester United managers ended by behind the scenes issues
Manchester United sackings in recent years have followed a similar pattern. Jose Mourinho was axed after the dressing room turned toxic, including a high profile fallout with Paul Pogba. He had previously clashed with Anthony Martial.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a more harmonious dressing room, but it ultimately fell apart amid disgruntled squad players, and accusations of favouritism. Rightly or wrongly, Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly, Dean Henderson, Jesse Lingard and Alex Telles were among those who felt they were wrongly overlooked on a consistent basis.
When results dried up, the unhappiness enveloping the squad added to the pressure, which led into Ralf Rangnick’s interim reign.
Under Rangnick, dressing room leaks sprung up with even more frequency, as the 2021/22 season completely fell apart.
There were signs of some of this under Erik ten Hag this past season with Jadon Sancho banished from the squad. And this was not the only issue he encountered, with Marcus Rashford briefly going off the rails early in 2024.
Two more issues at Manchester United
Erik ten Hag is staying on as manager after a successful end to the season. And amid the announcement, The Telegraph have revealed some backstory to the campaign, including a couple of behind the scenes issues the manager encountered.
One involved Raphael Varane, who was dropped from the team in October and November. Ten Hag felt the Frenchman had ‘checked out’, amid the player’s concerns for his body, amid the never-ending fixture schedule.
Varane won Ten Hag over after returning to the team to face Bayern Munich and Liverpool in December, and the issue was squashed – although a decision was made mutually not to renew his contract.
Another issue came late in the season with Luke Shaw, who was said to be ‘angry’ that Ten Hag had denied his request to attempt to recover from injury abroad. Shaw was eventually given permission to do so – although it did not aid his recovery to return in time for the FA Cup Final regardless.
Erik ten Hag kept Manchester United players fighting for the cause
It is a common question when the manager is under pressure, ‘has he lost the dressing room?’.
There was never a sense that this was the case with Erik ten Hag. While not every performance was pretty, the players kept on fighting, for themselves, for the manager, and for the fans.
It helped that there was a clear goal to aim for at the end of the season. A defeat to Coventry City in the semi-final could have led to an ugly, painfully slow final few weeks of the season.
Ten Hag was able to keep his players motivated by the possibility of silverware, highlighted by the commitment of Varane, who returned to the team in time for the final, and delivered a world class display to shut out Erling Haaland.
The issues with Varane and Shaw, two senior players, might have led to accusations of a ‘toxic’ dressing room, had they been allowed to spiral. But Ten Hag retained the faith of his players, and this has been key in the decision from Ineos to stick by him.