Ten Hag ‘very lucky’ as ex-Man Utd star predicts ‘serious pressure’ after three Premier League games

Erik ten Hag is “very lucky” and could be sacked three games into the season, says former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke.

The Dutch manager was facing the sack last May but saved his job by winning the FA Cup, surprisingly beating Manchester City in the final.

New Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly spoke to several managers – including Thomas Tuchel – over potentially replacing Ten Hag but ultimately decided to keep the faith , offering him a new contract.

After a superb maiden season in charge, winning the Carabao Cup and finishing third in the Premier League, Ten Hag’s side massively underwhelmed in 2023/24, finishing eighth in the league with 14 defeats – a new club record.

That FA Cup victory essentially kept Ten Hag at Old Trafford and club icon Yorke has claimed he “is a very lucky man” and has urged the manager to ditch “the Ajax way”, as it “doesn’t work in the Premier League”.

“Erik ten Hag is a very lucky man to still be the manager of Manchester United,” Yorke said. “The FA Cup saved his job because what we saw in the Premier League definitely wasn’t enough to get a new contract.

“United were talking to other people so they clearly weren’t totally happy. He now needs to find a style of play that will conjure up results.

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“The Ajax way doesn’t work in the Premier League so he needs to give that idea up quickly.

“There are a few exceptions like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam but players from that league haven’t done very well in England either.

“It’s all well and good wanting to play that way but not at Manchester United who have had their own style, he has to be very careful in finding that balance because United have their own traditions.”

Yorke added that Ten Hag could lose his job after “three or four games” this term, with defeats to clubs in the bottom half likely to give him “a serious problem”.

“If Erik ten Hag loses three or four games early in the season, he will be under serious pressure, especially if the other big teams all pull away to leave Manchester United sitting in mid-table,” he continued.

“The biggest issue for Ten Hag, which could end up costing him his job, is losing to the teams that aren’t Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham.

“If they lose to Brighton and Southampton, which is after Liverpool, Ten Hag will have a serious problem.

“There is no way of trying to butter it up and be nice about it.

“Beat the teams around you and things will be fine, if you lose those then that’s what will cost Ten Hag his job.”

Yorke also discussed the situation with Jadon Sancho. The £73million winger fell out with Ten Hag last September but the pair put water under the bridge before pre-season.

This was likely a play to get a decent fee for Sancho, who was not included in the Man Utd squad for their Premier League opener against Fulham last Friday.

Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have both been linked with a move for the 24-year-old winger and Yorke has warned Ten Hag that he could soon be back to square one.

“I’ve been in football long enough to see that although you can try to patch up relationships, when things start unravelling on the pitch those relationships go pear-shaped again,” Yorke added.

“If Jadon Sancho isn’t playing and the manager is making all sorts of changes after losing games, which will happen this season, he’s going to have to manage that whole scenario all over again.

“This could unfold in a horrible way because things really weren’t right between them. Sancho would’ve been hoping that Ten Hag would leave but both have had to compromise.

“It’s a situation to watch very closely.”

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