Erik ten Hag reveals honest thoughts towards Man Utd sack speculation
- Ten Hag finds himself under immense pressure after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Man Utd takeover
- Many fans have called for a change in manager; Reports name Gareth Southgate as a leading contender
- Dutchman remains focused on the task at hand at Old Trafford
By Tom Gott
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insists he simply "does not care" about speculation he could be sacked by the club's new co-owners.
Ten Hag has divided fans all season and saw the pressure on his shoulders ramp up after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS completed their minority takeover of the club, prompting countless reports suggesting a new manager could be hired.
England boss Gareth Southgate was recently touted as the dream replacement for Ten Hag but the Three Lions manager described the speculation as "disrespectful" towards the Dutchman.
Asked for his own opinion on the situation, Ten Hag insisted it is simply part of life at a top club.
"You know when you are working at Manchester United, there will always be noise and rumours around the club, team, manager, players, there will always be issues," he explained.
"You [the media] like it to talk about [speculation], but of course we have different interests, but we are not focusing on that. We are focusing on the process to make the team play better, to improve the way of playing.
"So yes, I do not care about it.
"I was trainer at Ajax and it [the pressure] was similar and so when you are working at the top in football, you get used to it - so we do not care, players do not care, I do not care.
"We are working and co-operating, we know we have to perform and we have to get the right results."
Saturday's trip to Brentford will see Ten Hag return to the scene of perhaps the toughest test of his Man Utd tenure. In what was just his second game in charge, the boss oversaw a shocking 4-0 defeat to the Bees, with many quickly questioning whether United had made a huge mistake in hiring him.
While he soon steadied the ship, the pressure remains high on Ten Hag, whose side are now nine points adrift of the top four with a game in hand.
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