Erik ten Hag reveals conversations with Man Utd about his future
- Man Utd suffered further setbacks in December despite improved November
- Media & fan pressure has been growing on Erik ten Hag to oversee consistent results
- Dutchman insists the club supports him and has been directly told that
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed he still feels the backing from the club – and has been told as much – amid recent poor results and growing pressure.
Despite beating Chelsea in a dominant performance recently and Ten Hag scooping November's Premier League Manager of the Month prize, United have continued to experience disappointment performances, with consecutive home defeats to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich.
The latter was the one that broke the camel's back as far as the Champions League, compounding a chaotic group stage for United and ensuring their season in Europe is now already over.
"I feel [confidence from the club] and they tell it to me," Ten Hag said as he and his team prepare to face Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday – this fixture last season finished 7-0 in favour of the Merseysiders and was a low point in United’s modern history.
"I'm focusing on the process, to make this team play better, on making the individuals better, that's my concern. It's all what I'm doing: I'm focusing on the team."
90min understands that Ten Hag's future is considered safe by the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose 25% buy-in and takeover of sporting operations will soon become official. The billionaire businessman and chief sporting aide Sir Dave Brailsford remain confident in Ten Hag's position.
The Dutchman similarly appears to have no concern that he is currently in any peril.
"There's no concern because I'm here to win and I have to make the team play better. I'm not concerned. I want to win, I want to win with my team, I want to progress with my team in the right direction. So we are here in a project. Last season, we were absolutely in the right direction, the project now we have not matched the standards we expect to have, that's the truth," Ten Hag continued.
"We have a setback but long-term the future for Man United is very good, if you see how many good players we have in the squad, how many good young players we have in the squad who have the really high potential to play top levels worldwide.
"When the injuries get back, the team will perform better."