Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag expressed confidence, saying Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is the only manager who has performed better than him over the past two years.
Manchester United also said that they had not won the trophy in six years before he came.
British media ‘Daily Mail’ said on the 22nd (Korea time), “Eric Ten Hach insisted that Pep Guardiola is the only Premier League coach who has performed better than him since he took charge of Manchester United,” adding, “Ten Hach defended his record and emphasized the influence he has had since coming to England.”
“This club hadn’t won a championship in six years before I came,” Ten Hag said. “In two years we won the most trophies in English football after Guardiola. So we’re in a strong position. We can beat any opponent, not just once, but many times, including Manchester City or Liverpool.”
“But the truth is there is a long way to go, and we have to be more consistent and create a winning culture,” he continued. “The club should develop further, not just a winning culture in the locker room, but a higher standard should be applied to the club as a whole.”
Manchester City’s Guardiola is the only coach in the Premier League who has won more trophies than Ten Hach since his appointment.
Guardiola won the league, the FA Cup of England, and the UEFA Champions League in the 2022-23 season, and also won the league in the 2023-24 season, winning four trophies in two years. He also became the first player in the Premier League to win four consecutive league titles.
Coach Ten Hag won the trophy for the second consecutive year, but given his performance, it is hard to praise him.
Ten Hag’s first season was well received. He left Ajax in the Netherlands to serve as Manchester United’s manager in the summer of 2022. There were opinions that he might be dismissed soon after suffering a crushing defeat in the early part of the season, but he quickly pulled up the team and Manchester United finished the 2022-23 season in third place. He had a successful season, reaching the top of the Carabao Cup.
His second season was expected to show better performance. His team was also on track to some extent, and his squads including striker Rasmus Höirun and midfielder Sofiane Amrabat were reinforced.
His second season, however, was practically a failure. He barely managed to save face by lifting the trophy by winning the 2023-2024 English FA Cup 2-1 against Manchester City, the final match of the 2023-24 season. Without this victory, it is highly likely that Ten Hag would not have been able to remain as manager at Manchester United anymore.
His performances in the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League were disastrous. His team was expected to advance to the round of 16 teams as it was easy to form a group at the Champions League, which he played in two years, but ended up at the bottom of the group qualifying round. Bayern Munich could hardly prevent it from dominating the top spot, but it was shocking to lose to Copenhagen, a Danish team, and Galatasaray, a Turkiye team. 핑크알바
In the league, the club set a new record. In the league, it lost 14 games, its most since the inauguration of the Premier League in 1992, and ranked eighth, its lowest. It allowed 85 goals in all official matches in the 2023-24 season, breaking the record of 81 goals lost in the 1976-77 season. It was not strange if Manchester United replaced Coach Ten Hag.
Manchester United decided to keep Ten Hag in charge. Ten Hag was the first coach to win the trophy for two consecutive years since Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager in 2013. He also showed good performance in the league in his first season, and decided that he could bounce back.
Coach Ten Hag opened up after his confirmation that he would remain in office. “The club management came to me while I was on vacation in Ibiza (Spain). They suddenly appeared at my door and told me that they wanted to stay with me,” he said. “Manchester United said they had talked to Thomas Tuchel, but they have already come to the conclusion that they have the best coach.”
Manchester United also announced the extension of its contract on the 4th. Ten Hag’s contract expires next summer, but he signed a one-year contract extension to stay with him until the summer of 2026. If he is not replaced during the contract and serves the entire term, he will be the longest-serving manager since Ferguson.
Manchester United is striving to strengthen its players this summer in order to proactively support Coach Ten Hag. It has announced the signing of Joshua Girksey, a Dutch striker born in 2001, and French center back Lenny Yoro, born in 2005. Although both players are young, they have proven their skills and capabilities, and therefore are considered to be responsible for Manchester United for more than 10 years.
Having played two pre-season games with Norway’s Rosenborg and Scotland’s Rangers, Manchester United will move to the U.S. and play friendly matches with Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool in turn to prepare for the new season. With the club’s active support, Ten Hag should show his words as the best manager after Guardiola.
