- Manchester United’s preparation for the Porto game has taken a major hit
- The Red Devils take on Porto in the Europa League on Thursday evening
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Erik ten Hag landed in wind and rain on Portugal’s Atlantic coast on Wednesday looking for whatever he can get to take the heat off himself and his beleaguered team. Any Porto in a storm and all that.
United’s plane arrived several hours late due to the severe weather conditions and that felt entirely appropriate for a manager and a club being battered from every direction in recent days.
The pathetic defeat to Tottenham has turned a difficult start to the season into a full-blown crisis for Ten Hag who is once again battling to save his job.
A Europa League victory in Porto won’t end the speculation, but it would be a start. The 54-year-old only has one win in his last nine European games following last week’s deflating draw with FC Twente, so that will be easier said than done.
Ten Hag then goes to Aston Villa on Sunday needing to put some credit in the bank before a two-week international break presents Sir Jim Ratcliffe with an opportunity to make any changes.
Erik ten Hag’s preparation for Man United’s Europa League clash against Porto took a hit
The Red Devils’ flight to Portugal was delayed by just over three hours due to wet weather
Man United were set to fly out at 3pm but did not take off until 6:10pm from Manchester
Suddenly, it’s May all over again for Ten Hag; the rumours over his future and potential replacements, even after winning the FA Cup.
Now, like then, he is remaining calm and falling back on a track record of winning trophies as a reason to keep him in charge.
‘This is nothing for me to panic about because I experienced it so often with my teams during seasons that you are facing those problems,’ he said.
‘Once you are a manager, and especially when you are manager of Manchester United, you know everyone will judge you. Much more than any other club, so you have to deal with criticism and don’t make a big deal of it.’
Could he survive if the next two games don’t go well? ‘I’m not thinking about this. I’m not anxious as well,’ came the reply.
‘We are in this together. We made in the summer togetherness; the ownership, the leadership, this agreement, and we are all behind it.
‘We knew also what the strategy with young players in a transition period was, and we know then also in which process you can come.
‘This can happen but also they know in the end, when we are in May, in all my last six seasons always there were trophies, and that is what we also now aim for.’
Ten Hag is under immense pressure after United’s dismal 3-0 loss to Tottenham last Sunday
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be forced to make a decision on Ten Hag’s future if results don’t improve
Porto boss Vitor Bruno has problems of his own after losing to Bodo Glimt in Norway last week, so inevitably he wasn’t going overboard in his sympathy for Ten Hag.
‘I don’t know him. I haven’t met him yet, but I would love to,’ said Bruno. ‘In Portugal, if you lose one match you are almost dead.
‘I’ve heard a lot of people saying that he was coming with a rope around his neck, but it would be a huge mistake (to underestimate them). Any club has problems but let’s see how things turn out. Ten Hag says he always wins trophies at the end of the year.’
