After lifting the FA Cup title last season, Erik ten Hag has refuted the view that he would be sacked before the final against Man City. After winning the championship with a 2-1 victory, the 54-year-old strategist said that he has reached 3 finals and won 2 titles in 2 consecutive years. If anyone wants to sack him, Ten Hag is willing and will go elsewhere to continue to reap the title.
That statement comes as Ten Hag just won the FA Cup with a victory over defending Premier League champions Man City. The Dutchman later reiterated during his tour of the United States that, apart from Man City, in his two years at Man United, no English side had won more trophies than the Red Devils.
After the 0-3 loss to Liverpool last weekend, when reporters in the press room "pushed him into a corner", Ten Hag dragged the trophy count out to answer. When asked by a reporter whether his approach to the match was wrong or not, the 54-year-old coach said he had a different vision to the media. He reiterated that Man United is the English team that has won the most trophies in just the past two years behind Man City.
Ten Hag is not wrong to say that because it is true. However, after 3 matches since the beginning of the season and only 3 points, the pressure has weighed on this strategist. British media has begun to speculate about him being kicked out of Old Trafford if he loses another 2-3 games. Amid such pressure, Ten Hag calmly replied that the most important thing in football is whether he can win a title at the end of the season or not.
This view of Ten Hag is different from Ole Solskjaer. In March 2021, Solsa said that cup competitions will bring home titles, but sometimes, how they perform on the field is still subjective to each player and coach.
"Not every title means the team is back in its heyday. It is just a small development, blending into the upward direction of the club. Sometimes, a cup tournament can hide the fact that your team is struggling," Solskajaer shared.
At the moment, Ten Hag's point of view is being heavily criticized because he and his students have lost 2 consecutive matches against Brighton and Liverpool. If all were the same, many "Red Devils" fans would still choose to live with accelerations and emotional matches under Ole Solskjaer.
As for Ten Hag, inherent errors in the defense, the harmlessness of the attack from match to match are not related to the "Red Devils" winning the FA Cup and League Cup in the last 2 years. Man United's main targets in Ten Hag's third season are a title and a Champions League ticket. In particular, playing in the highest level of European football is all-time important.
Therefore, if they continue to play like this, whether they win the FA Cup or League Cup again, Man United will not be able to participate in the most prestigious playground in the old continent. The Europa League is having too many "cars" while the Premier League has dozens of teams ready to stumble Ten Hag's team in the goal of winning tickets.
