Erik ten Hag has commented on the speculation surrounding his future at Manchester United after his team beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup. Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were on the scoresheet as United triumphed 2-1, but reports have suggested Ten Hag will be sacked from his post. Ten Hag insisted he has made United “better” during his two seasons at the club.
Erik ten Hag has issued a defiant response to speculation he will be removed as Manchester United manager, saying he will “go anywhere else to win trophies”.
Ten Hag’s team stunned Manchester City at Wembley, holding on for a 2-1 victory to win the FA Cup.
Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored in the first half for United, who were able to cling on after Jeremy Doku got one back for City in the 87th minute.
Speculation surrounding Ten Hag’s future dominated the build up to the final, with multiple reports suggesting he would be sacked regardless of the result at Wembley.
“I don’t think about this,” Ten Hag insisted in his post-match press conference. “I’m in a project and we are exactly where we want to be. We’re constructing a team.
“When I took over, it was a mess at United. We are on our way to construct a team for the future. We’ll go with the ups and downs.
“What you see is the team is developing, the team is winning, at the end of the day it is about winning trophies.”
Ten Hag has been in charge at United since the start of the 2022-23 season, winning the League Cup and losing to City in the FA Cup final during that campaign.
“Two trophies in two years is not bad,” the Dutchman added. “Three finals is not bad, but we have to keep going.
“I’m not satisfied with it. We have to do better. If they don’t want me anymore, I go anywhere else to win trophies because that is what I did my whole career.”
Despite United’s eighth-placed finish in the Premier League, Ten Hag said he felt the criticism of him and his team had been unwarranted.
“I think so,” he said when asked about the criticism on BBC One. “The team. Me as well. It was not right.”
Ten Hag has blamed United’s injury crisis for their disappointing season, which has been somewhat salvaged by the FA Cup win and their consequent qualification for the UEFA Europa League.
He used Mainoo’s injury at the start of the season as an example while praising the 19-year-old’s performance against City.
“It was really so enjoyable to watch Kobbie, at his age,” Ten Hag said. “But it’s also an example – we wanted to bring him and then in the second game in pre-season, he got a bad injury and it took him [so] long to get back.”