Erik Ten Hag has signed a new two-year contract to stay at Manchester United until June 2026.
Ten Hag succeeded interim manager – Ralf Rangnick ahead of the 2022-23 season and initially got off to a poor start as the first Utd manager in 101 years to lose his two games in charge, with John Chapman in 1921 having been the last boss to achieve that embarrassing feat.
The Dutchman nevertheless turned Utd’s season around as the Red Devils beat Newcastle to win 2022-23 Carabao Cup, whilst they finished third in the Premier League and lost the FA Cup Final to local rivals – Manchester City.
Last season however proved more difficult amidst several periods of an injury crisis on top of early Carabao Cup and Champions League exits, whilst they only finished eighth in the top-flight amidst a series of poor performances and inconsistency.
Ultimately Utd’s FA Cup success saved Ten Hag which saw the Red Devils avenge last year’s final defeat with a clinical counter-attacking win over Man City in this season’s showpiece, which in-turn secured an Europa League spot and denied Newcastle United an European spot.
Ten Hag though is aware that he is lucky to even still be in the job following a thorough performance review, but iterated that Utd’s players must buckle up their ideas if want to fight for more success.
“I am very pleased to have reached agreement with the club to continue working together. Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined.
“However, we must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles.
“In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together.”
Utd’s new Sporting Director, Dan Ashworth added: “With two trophies in the past two seasons, Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football.
“While the club’s review of last season highlighted areas for improvement, it also reached a clear conclusion that Erik was the best partner for us to work with in driving up standards and outcomes.
“This group of players and staff have already shown they are capable of competing and winning at the top level; now we need to do it more consistently.
“With our strengthened football leadership team now in place, we are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with Erik to achieve our shared ambitions for this football club.”
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