In a swift quashing of rumours, Manchester United have reportedly denied that they are planning to replace Erik ten Hag as the manager.
The Peoples Person earlier reported, via The Times, that United had been in touch with prospective candidates, including Ruben Amorim and Zinedine Zidane.
It was a contingency plan in case results didn’t turn around under the current manager.
Now, Fabrizio Romano reports that United have denied any such claims, calling these stories “categorically false”.
🚨🔴 Manchester United deny any idea or contact to replace Erik ten Hag with new head coach.
Club sources guarantee stories on new manager are ‘categorically false’. pic.twitter.com/gy0uOQkKC4
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 2, 2023
Romano said that United have had no contact, and haven’t even entertained the idea of replacing the manager, let alone touching base with potential alternatives.
Despite a nightmare start to the season, Ten Hag retains the trust of the board and the fans due to the encouraging performance of the team last season.
United ended their trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and were back in the Champions League.
However, Ten Hag is quickly using up all the credit he has in his bank with each bad result and even worse performance.
Boos from United fans at games have become a common sight and Old Trafford as a fortress under the manager has been repeatedly breached this season.
Although players have bore the brunt of criticism in a departure from the norm under previous managers, the Dutchman is finally copping flak for some of his decisions.
Be it confusing team selections, trying the same things tactically that have failed him multiple times this year, or huge misses in the transfer market, the worst of Ten Hag as manager has come to the fore this season.
His future does look secure for now, especially due to incoming changes at the top level anyway with Sir Jim Ratcliffe taking sporting control of the club soon.
However, if results don’t turn around soon, this statement by United, as reported by Romano, could well be remembered as the dreaded “Vote of confidence” before the inevitable axe falls on the man in the dugout.