Man Utd would look like ‘bunch of calamitous clowns’ if they sack Ten Hag now

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Manchester United directors would look like a ‘bunch of calamitous clowns’ if they sacked Erik ten Hag now after deciding not to get rid of him in the summer, according to Simon Jordan.

Ten Hag was handed a one-year contract extension on the back of Ineos’ thorough strategic review in the summer, despite leading United to their worst-ever finish in the Premier League.

The pressure has continued to ramp up on the Dutch boss this season, with United currently languishing in 14th, with many suggesting he may well be shown the door in the international break.

But it’s claimed the United chiefs have decided not to pull the trigger and Ten Hag’s job is safe for now.

Simon Jordan believes that’s the right decision, as sacking him now, just two months after they decided he was still the man to take them forward, would make Ratcliffe and his team a laughing stock.

Jordan wrote in his Daily Mail column : ‘The proper time for a robust discussion about Erik ten Hag’s future was during the summer, not seven games into a new season in which he’s been handed an extended contract and £200milion worth of new players and a so-called new framework which is only weeks old.

‘I’m not excusing United’s start to the season. You don’t need to be a performance analyst guru with supposed transferable skills like Sir Dave Brailsford to look at the league table and realise 14th isn’t good enough.

‘Any club of United’s stature would be investigating replacement options if the current malaise doesn’t correct itself. And should United remain outside the top 10 by Christmas, there wouldn’t even be a debate to be had, calls for the manager to go would be universal.

‘But barely two months into the season, why would you change the strategy you were convinced by in the summer?

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‘If they’d taken radical action and removed Ten Hag in their first close season, I’d have understood – and even encouraged it. But to reverse their own decision so quickly suggests a loss of nerve. We know that although the league table looks bad, it is only a small sample size and things in football can change relatively quickly.

‘If they believe Ten Hag was the right person in the summer, they owe it to give him a little more rope, either to run with or the alternative.

‘As a club, United have not yet built the stability around the coach they said they were going to. Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada are just in the building.

‘While my gut feeling is you should always run your business the way you think it should, United know that jettisoning their manager so soon after inviting him to stay makes them look out of control. It will be a trigger for running the gauntlet of public opinion who will see them as a bunch of calamitous clowns for reversing a big decision they took in the summer.’