A week is a long time in football, as Ten Hag is about to find out
WHEN Erik ten Hag steps off the United team bus at Wembley on Sunday, he will not require directions from a Wembley official to the dressing room area.
This weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City will mark the Dutchman’s fourth visit to the national stadium since taking charge of United two years ago. His first was for last season’s Carabao Cup final and his two most recent visits were for last season’s FA Cup semi-final and final.
It was underneath the famous arch that Ten Hag guided United to their first trophy since 2017, overseeing a 2-0 win over Newcastle. He dreamed of visiting the Royal Balcony for a second time when facing City in the second domestic cup final of the season in June.
United, of course, were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline that day, meaning Ten Hag’s first season at Old Trafford concluded with one trophy and a top four finish, securing Champions League qualification. While those achievements were not comparable with United’s successes of yesteryear, they represented steps in the right direction.
Ahead of Sunday’s tussle with Coventry, however, United know they must win to keep their season alive.
Their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League for next season are as good as over, they exited the Carabao Cup early on and their participation in Europe was over before children had finished scoffing the contents of their advent calendars.
Winning the FA Cup is the only way United can salvage something from what has been a forgettable campaign. It may also be the only way Ten Hag stands a chance of keeping his job.
While there is no denying United will head into Sunday’s first FA Cup meeting with Coventry since 1987 as favourites, confidence is unlikely to be flowing within the camp. Since booking a date with Mark Robins’ side, United have failed to win, drawing three and losing one of their past four matches. Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, coupled with Aston Villa’s 2-0 win Arsenal 24 hours later, has left them 13 points shy of the top four with just six Premier League games left to play. Despite that meaning their Champions League qualification hopes are as good as over, United still need to end the campaign as strongly as possible, not least because they need to ensure they clinch Europa League qualification as the second best European prize on offer. West Ham and Chelsea are hot on their heels and the race for European qualification is getting more and more intense. Following Sunday’s trip to Wembley, United have back-to-back home league games against Sheffield United and Burnley, who are both almost certain to be relegated in the coming weeks. Winning just three away league games between them all season, United should
While United go into the semi-final as favourites, confidence is unlikely to be flowing George Smith
not be targeting anything other than six points and two polished performances.
But as they have demonstrated once too often this season, United have come unstuck when facing one of the Premier League’s lesser clubs on their own patch this season, losing to the likes of Fulham (2-1) and Crystal Palace (1-0).
They only managed to scrape past Luton Town by a solitary goal at Old Trafford.
With pressure mounting on Ten Hag after a run of four games without a win and just one win in seven in the league, the outcome of United’s next three games could end up making Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s decision for him as far as the Dutchman’s future is concerned.
He has made sweeping changes to the club’s hierarchy and the manager’s position is not immune to a change, either.
Facing Coventry, Sheffield United and Burnley in the space of seven days will provide three acid tests for Ten Hag, in the sense that each of them are must-wins. United cannot afford to let anything slip, nor can they afford to produce three limp performances, regardless of the results.
Those seven days won’t make Ten Hag, but they could quite easily break him. It marks the most important week of his tenure yet.