MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Manchester United manager Eric ten Hag enjoyed a rare good day as his team beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Wednesday, the only time this poor season could come to an end. Can expect something else.
Debate and speculation has intensified over the Dutchman’s status as manager, with Man United winning a Premier League game for the third time in almost three months. This was achieved thanks to goals from three young players, Koby Manu, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hjolund, while Ten Hag was also able to get Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and – crucially – Lisandro Martínez back from injury.
With one game remaining, the win keeps alive Man United’s hopes of finishing in the top seven and qualifying for European competition through league position. It also raises a faint hope that, with the FA Cup final against Manchester City coming up at the end of the month, a disastrous season might still end on a positive note.
Whether any of this will be enough to keep Ten Hag in the job, only new club investors Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS know.
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“It’s a win and I’m happy with the team’s performance,” Ten Hag said. “It’s always difficult to play against Newcastle, they are very physical, but we played good football, scored good goals, especially the first. It was a good team goal. We got some players back, now we have more players available And you are a bench.”
For once, his post-match press conference was largely positive.
Thanks to Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday, Man United can only realistically drop to seventh in the table, which would still represent their worst finish in the Premier League era.
However, they escaped a record 10th competitive home defeat in their last Old Trafford outing of the season and after a campaign which left Ten Hag battered and bruised, he will be looking to pick up small wins wherever possible.
While the result against Newcastle was welcome, there were parts of the performance that raised more questions than answers.
One such: Why did it take so long to give Amad Diallo a chance? The 21-year-old Ivorian gave Man United the moment of the season as he scored an extra-time FA Cup winner against Liverpool in March, but he had to wait another two months for his Premier League debut.
Finally selected against Arsenal on Sunday, Diallo retained his place against Newcastle and provided an assist for Manu and then a ferocious strike to score the goal himself.
“It has been a difficult season for Amad because of a bad injury,” Ten Hag said. “He fought and his performances in training and progression have been very good. Now he has got his chance and he has taken his opportunity. That’s the way it should work. There is always internal competition and I am very happy with his level.”
One of the criticisms of Ten Hag has been his loyalty to Antony and his poor £85 million signing. But with the Brazilian left on the bench, Amad took his chance and in all likelihood he has already done enough to make his debut at Wembley in the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 25 (only ESPN+, live stream in the US).
As if to emphasize this point, the stadium started singing “Amad Diallo” midway through the second half. This was followed by slogans of support for the manager and “We are on the march with Ten Haig’s army”.
Most fans are undecided about whether he should be allowed to continue next season and at the moment, so are the club. Beating Newcastle provided some relief after their poor form since the end of February. A decision on his future is set to be delayed until after the trip to Wembley.
After the final whistle against Newcastle, Ten Hag gave a speech to the fans from the center of the pitch, promising that “these players will do everything they can to win the cup.” This was well received and after a lap around the stadium, Ten Hag walked down the tunnel to the applause of the supporters who stayed behind.
“The whole season, for the fans, it’s a very difficult season,” Ten Hag admitted afterwards. “We are very pleased with the attitude of the fans.”
That will happen too. It remains to be seen whether this makes any difference to Ratcliffe.
After so many low points, there is a strong argument for sacking Ten Hag. But while there are still games left – particularly the cup final against Man City – opportunities remain for Ten Hag to swing the debate in his favour.
It will take more than a narrow win over Newcastle to reassure everyone, but at the very least, there is a glimmer of hope that maybe there can be a positive end to an otherwise forgettable campaign.
“After our season so far, I don’t talk about pride,” Ten Hag said. “We’re all disappointed with the season, but we can still win something.”
