Michael Plant gives the latest on Erik ten Hag's situation following confirmation that he is to retain his position as Manchester United manager.
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00:00 So, it has finally been confirmed that Eric Ten Hag will stay as Manchester United manager.
00:05 Confirmation came on Tuesday night that the Dutchman won't be losing his job after the
00:09 end of what was quite a difficult season for Manchester United. But ultimately, that FA
00:13 Cup triumph against Manchester City, I think proved to be quite a significant factor in
00:18 Ineos' decision to stick with Ten Hag after that lengthy two-week internal review into
00:25 his position and several club matters. Now, I think a lot of fans believe that that review
00:30 really did take quite a long time, but United, from their perspective, pointed to the fact
00:34 that this is the first real, proper review that Ineos have had since they took charge.
00:40 I think a good way to describe it is perhaps they've had plenty of peaks under the bonnet,
00:43 but this was the first MOT in service, I suppose, of the Ineos regime. So, it was always going
00:48 to take its time, at least that's what United insist from their perspective, and they have
00:52 ultimately, as I say, decided to stick with Ten Hag. And it will mean a slight change
00:58 of job for him. Well, not necessarily job, but some of his roles in that job. And I think
01:02 that he's certainly going to have less involvement in transfers. Ten Hag has actually been pivotal
01:07 in United's transfer policy. Quite unusual for a Premier League manager to have such
01:11 a big influence, but he has played such a big role. Obviously, a number of Dutch players
01:14 coming in since he's taken charge, a number of players who have got experience playing
01:18 in the Eredivisie. Ineos are going to move away a little bit from that, move Ten Hag
01:22 towards slightly more of a head coach role than a manager, and they are going to take
01:27 a little bit more of the emphasis and control over transfers. But not only is Ten Hag going
01:33 to remain as Manchester United manager, there are talks, well he is in talks about potentially
01:38 signing a new contract with the club. That is despite United actually reaching out to
01:42 several managers over the last couple of weeks, the likes of Thomas Tuchel, Pochettino, De
01:47 Zerbe, Kieran McKenna have all been contacted. Gareth Southgate is a manager that I believe
01:52 they still retain a lot of interest in, and I think that going into the season that could
01:56 be a particularly interesting position to keep an eye on, particularly the fact that
02:01 Southgate isn't actually available now due to his commitments to England. But in terms
02:06 of the factors that ultimately led to Ten Hag remaining in his position, well I mentioned
02:11 the FA Cup triumph, that was definitely a big factor in Ineos' decision, and the fact
02:16 that despite the league issues, United have now won two trophies in two years, and when
02:20 you consider they've gone nearly six years without winning silverware before Ten Hag's
02:24 arrival, it is quite an achievement. I think there's a feeling as well from a United perspective
02:28 that Ten Hag handled himself well with a lot of grace and dignity in very difficult circumstances,
02:32 you have to say. And I think Ineos also believes that Ten Hag deserves a chance to show what
02:37 he's capable of under this Ineos regime, because he's had to deal with a lot of stuff, Ten
02:43 Hag since he came in, and the uncertainty surrounding his position and just the general
02:47 ownership of Manchester United. So I think Ineos feels that with a proper sporting structure
02:51 around him, he deserves the opportunity to showcase what he is capable of. I think there's
02:56 also a feeling that Ten Hag is sort of building the team for the future, with Kobe Mayon who's
03:01 come in to the team, Alejandro Garnaccio, he's also signed players like Hoyland, Andre
03:06 Onana, even Mason Mount, not players for, well players for the here and now, but also
03:10 players who you know, there is an eye on the future as well with those transfer policies.
03:14 And of course I think there's no escaping the fact that injuries have had a huge bearing
03:18 on last season as well, and there's a lot of sympathy I think for Ten Hag, and you know,
03:24 those injury issues certainly, the medical department, there are a number of issues there
03:29 at Manchester United that I think need to be examined going into the season. And it's
03:33 going to be a big summer now in terms of transfers, United need to get that right, and I think
03:37 that Ten Hag also needs to be aware that he needs to start this season, this upcoming
03:42 season in good form, because if they have a bad start to the campaign, you can very
03:46 quickly see a lot of speculation and rumours surrounding his future building, and you know,
03:52 it's not a perfect situation for him because he knows that if any of us had real faith
03:56 in him and his position, they would have come out weeks ago and backed him even before the
03:59 end of the season. They haven't done that, they have spoken to other managers, and it
04:03 does leave him in a slightly precarious position long term, but at the same time, this does
04:08 give him a basis to build from, and I think he knows if he does a good job from now going
04:12 forward that he will remain as Manchester United manager. But as always, plenty of Manchester
04:17 United news on Manchester World, and we'll be keeping you updated on the latest on Eric
04:21 Ten Hag and all the potential transfers coming in this summer.