After a 4-0 demolition from Crystal Palace, there was hardly anyone who though that Eric ten Hag would stay as Manchester United coach beyond this season. Well, maybe the coach himself, and his wife thought that he is still capable of leading United, and Roy Keane as well, but that was it. Little over a month ago, a stunning news came – the Dutchman was to stay at the helm. And to make this news more ‘spicier‘, he is about to sign a contract extension, keeping him at Old Trafford until 2026. But how?Theathre of Dreams or Absurdity: Ten Hag is to stay at Old TraffordWell, there are a few reasons, from trophies and lack of quality replacements, to injury crisis and the lack of desire to become a Manchester United manager. Let‘s start with the obvious (but not the main one) reasons – the guy won two trophies in two seasons for the Red Devils. What‘s more impressive is that the second one (FA Cup) was won against arch-rivals Manchester City, the four-time consecutive champions of England. The second reason is surely the injury crisis, not seen in the history of the club. In fact, no team in the Premier League (apart from Newcastle) suffered more injuries last season and Ten Hag was often left without three of his four first choice defenders. There were more than 60 cases of injury and the Dutchman was not to be blamed for that.Ten Hag reveals his plans after ManchesterBut, the fact that Manchester‘s display was bad for most of the season and that he finished in eight place, the club’s lowest league finish for 34 years forced Sir Jim Ratcliffe to speak to other candidates. It was a bit embarrassing, especially when it was found out that the club‘s representatives held talks with Brentford‘s Thomas Frank on the day when United played the FA Cup final. They spoke with Kieran McKenna too, as well as Thomas Tuchel. Roberto De Zerbi, Gareth Southgate and Mauricio Pochettino were also on the list. For various reasons, they all went out of the race. Southgate couldn‘t commit to United as he has EURO 2024 ahead of him, while Tuchel apparently wanted a 350 million pounds transfer kitty and left the talks with the feeling that they won‘t choose him, so he decided to take one year off. There are no reports why other candidates didn‘t make it, but The Times had an interesting report regarding two candidates, who actually turned down United. One is said to have been ‘astounded by the low wage that he would receive if he took the job’. Another ‘was left unimpressed by the transfer budget, which is roughly 35 million pounds gross this summer.Body language says it all.. as cool as a cucumber. pic.twitter.com/n12iSpLNiv— Frank🧠🇳🇱 (fan) (@TenHagEra) June 11, 2024 So, a number of issues helped Ten Hag to remain at the helm, and after he receives his two year extension, he will probably be demoted to ‘head coach‘ and not ‘manager‘, and will be tasked to keep developing younger players, just like he did this year with Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho. The likes of Willy Kambwala, Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass, Toby Collyer, Louis Jackson and Habeeb Ogunneye all wait for their chance. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8154672##
