ERIK TEN HAG should remain Manchester United manager for next season regardless of how he finishes this term.
That is according to United hero Mikael Silvestre, who insist the club’s new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe should give Ten Hag his full backing because of the Dutchman’s success in the previous campaign.
The 54-year-old came under fire this term following a poor start that saw the Red Devils getting knocked out of the Champions League group stages and falling dangerously far away from the top four.
The ex-Ajax boss has managed to turn things around after the holidays as he has won six out of eight matches, of which he only lost one, this year.
Ten Hag is making a strong claim for a late top-four push but his position at the Old Trafford dugout still looks uncertain.
Ratcliffe, who completed a £1.03billion takeover of 27.7 per cent of the club and is now in charge of sporting operations, hinted at major changes ahead of next season.
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However, Silvestre remains adamant that the Dutch tactician should stay put as he has already showed he can work wonders with the right players.
Ten Hag led United to a third-place finish on his debut campaign, won their first piece of silverware in six years after a Carabao Cup triumph and also made it to the FA Cup Final.
Silvestre told SunSport on behalf of Betting Expert: “Yeah, I think he should be given time because of last season – the way the team behaved. The team performed and there was clear direction.
“He needs to be given time to implement his ideas, to have the right players in the right positions to go back to winning ways and to be a dominant force again in the league.
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“So I think he should be given time and the backing necessary in terms of time and investment.”
Ten Hag has recently insisted he has Ratcliffe’s backing for the long term.
The Dutch head coach has held a number of meetings recently with United’s new part owner and his right-hand man Sir David Brailsford.
Ten Hag said: “We speak a lot. I have had many conversations with him and with Dave Brailsford about this club, about this team, about the structures.
“We are very aligned, it totally fits with the ambitions I have, ambitions I had when I came in.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
