Erik ten Hag: Manchester United boss offered to ‘separate’ after ‘confrontational’ future talks

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed a “confrontational conversation” with the club’s hierarchy before a decision was made on his future, where he suggested they should “part ways” if no deal could be reached an agreement.

Following Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover of United, a number of managers have reportedly been lined up to replace Ten Hag should he leave in the summer.

As it was, United ended a disastrous season in style with an FA Cup final victory over Manchester City as the Ten Hag won their second trophy in as many seasons at Old Trafford.

Part of the overhaul was intense conversations with the manager, which Ten Hag opened up about in a recent interview.

“The argument they made was in a nutshell: we’ve looked at everything and put it all together, but we think we already have the best in-house manager,” he explained.

“Then I said: we need to discuss a few things, about how we interact and collaborate. We had a good, honest, but also conflicted conversation about it. As it should be at the top.

“I gave my vision about the season, about the situation at United. And I’ve indicated which path I think we should take.

“You have to be very honest with each other about it. And then it’s about: do you come together or not? I also said to them, “If you don’t think this is the way, then we should part ways.”

United suffered their lowest league position of the Premier League era last season with an eighth place finish, their worst finish since they settled for 13th in 1990.

The club also lost a record number of games in the top flight with 14 defeats.

Ten Hag admitted the 2023/24 campaign was “by far the toughest season he’s experienced” as a manager.

“You get tired, especially at the end,” revealed the Dutchman. “You have to make sure you stay sharp. Let’s be honest: you lose too many games, it just takes effort to keep the team focused, motivated every time.

“The players are disappointed, those around you are disappointed. This is a very big club with a lot of people working here. And these people are disappointed, a negative atmosphere develops.

“As a manager, you have to keep giving energy. That takes power, of course.”

Plenty of clubs have endured tough injury spells in the last quarter, none more so than United as the Ten Hag were forced to use a number of defensive combinations which included Casemiro filling in at the back.

“It had nothing to do with the intensity of my training because here you train and play every three days,” Ten Hag said as he defended his methods.

“When you look at the schedule I’ve had – 61 games, not counting all the games my players have played for their national teams – it’s just bizarre. It really is too much.

“We weren’t the only team struggling with injuries, other clubs had the same problem.

“Last season, we had her constantly in the same positions, all in defense. At one point, we almost had no defenders left.”

United kick off their Premier League campaign on Friday 16 August when they entertain Fulham at Old Trafford.