Alan Shearer was right about Manchester United and Erik ten Hag knows it deep down

Erik ten Hag’s perfect end to the 2023/24 season was fulfilled on Saturday afternoon, although it was a far from perfect season for Manchester United.

An eighth place finish in the Premier League with a goal difference of -1 told the story of what has been a miserable campaign for the club.

Ten Hag has repeatedly pointed to the injury problems he has faced throughout the season due to the team’s lack of progress, although this defense ignores what have been too many sub-par performances from his group of players.

The Dutchman has been let down too many times by those in red who have taken to the pitch, which was evident again earlier this month during a dismal 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.

READ MORE: Reviews of Manchester United players like Sofyan Amrabat and Kobbie Mainoo brilliant against Man City

READ MORE: Manchester United see their new era against Man City with their sweetest FA Cup win in decades

However, Ten Hag believes the media have been too critical of his players – a stance he doubled down on when speaking after United’s FA Cup final win. Asked again if he felt the first team had been unfairly criticized, the 54-year-old replied: “I think so. The team, and me, it wasn’t fair.”

Alan Shearer then took a moment to rightly step in and question that statement at face value, stating: “The only thing I would say is you had a team out there today who showed great attitude, who showed a great attitude. ability, who won every tackle.

“That hasn’t always been the case this season though, has it? So you understand why we criticize sometimes. If you had that every week, you wouldn’t have finished eighth. Today was unbelievable.”

Such an assessment of United was a measure and a perfectly reasonable response from the Premier League’s all-time top scorer, who rightly pointed out that the Red Devils have too often disappeared when it matters most in matches.

This unfortunate trend may have cost Ten Hag his job, who may be thinking how things might have gone differently if he could have relied on consistent players week in and week out as manager. Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Diogo Dalot were three examples of individuals who rose to the challenge of what was a testing campaign, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the squad.

Whether or not a new manager is capable of turning United into a team capable of challenging for England’s top-flight glory remains to be seen, with the past two years proving the hot-and-cold nature of the current crop at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag stayed true to his players when he defended them against criticism, but he will know deep down that such comments were more often than not justified.