Ten Hag IN, McKenna OUT: Did Man Utd make the wrong managerial decision?
Cameron Smith
- 6 Oct 2023 12:45 BST
- 5 min read
Erik ten Hag is under pressure at Manchester United.
It seems unlikely that he will lose his job - given the fact he won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup final and finished third in the Premier League last year - but he’s certainly under pressure.
Man Utd have lost six of their opening 10 games in all competitions so far this season and are currently bottom of Group A in the Champions League.
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Furthermore, they are 10th in the Premier League table with three wins and four losses so far this campaign.
Ten Hag’s trophy cabinet is already more fruitful than that of his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and the general consensus around Old Trafford is that the Dutchman will be given time to turn things around.
An injury crisis this season has not helped matters, with summer signings Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount missing parts of the campaign so far, along with Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw’s issues.
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In fact, Ten Hag has used Sofyan Amrabat at left-back in recent games due to injuries to Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Sergio Reguilon.
The Man Utd manager has also been let down by individual errors and poor performances by his players this campaign.
Take the Galatasaray game for example: Marcus Rashford squandered a great opportunity by choosing to pass to Bruno Fernandes rather than shoot when 1v1 with Fernando Muslera, the defensive line was all out-of-shape for Mauro Icardi’s winner, while Andre Onana was at fault for that goal and for Casemiro’s red card.
The problem for Ten Hag is, most of the Red Devils squad are his men, his hand-picked signings.
Man Utd have spent €434.7 million and signed 16 players since Ten Hag took charge last summer, so while poor player errors have plagued this season, he has to take some responsibility as he was the driving force behind their arrivals.
Ten Hag looks like he’ll be given time to fix things at Old Trafford, but the patience of the Man Utd faithful is already running low, meaning pressure will continue to mount if results don’t drastically improve in the coming weeks.
While Ten Hag is struggling at Man Utd, former Red Devils assistant manager Kieran McKenna is working wonders at Ipswich Town.
Did Man Utd let McKenna go too soon?
McKenna, 37, spent five years at Man Utd - between 2016 and 2021 - after arriving from managing Tottenham Hotspur’s U18 side.
His final three years at Old Trafford was spent as assistant manager alongside Michael Carrick. The pair replaced Rui Faria as Jose Mourinho’s assistants ahead of the 2018-19 season and kept that position during Solskjaer’s tenure too.
McKenna was appointed as Ipswich head coach in December 2021, while Carrick left to become Middlesbrough manager in October 2022.
They have both enjoyed fruitful spells since departing Man Utd, but McKenna appears to have leapfrogged Carrick this season.
The Northern Irishman guided Ipswich Town to promotion from League One last season and they currently sit second in the Championship, just two points behind leaders Leicester City.
McKenna has achieved this feat with a very similar squad to the one that secured promotion in 2022-23.
George Hirst - signed for €1.8m from Leicester - has admittedly become the starting number nine, while Brandon Williams and Omari Hutchinson have featured heavily following their loan moves from Man Utd and Chelsea, but McKenna has mostly stuck with the players who finished second in League One last year.
His Ipswich side were unbeaten in the final 19 league games of last season, scoring a ridiculous 52 goals and conceding just seven during that time.
That devastating form has continued in the Championship and the step up in division has not hindered Ipswich or McKenna.
Ipswich are an extremely press-resistant team and McKenna’s coaching has helped the squad blow so-called ‘bigger teams’ away this campaign; somewhat reminiscent of Roberto De Zerbi’s impact and style at Brighton.
There is a feel-good factor surrounding the Tractor Boys right now - as seen by a video of the squad signing Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ with the famous Ipswich fan in the dressing room - and McKenna is one of the most promising young managers in world football.
Perfect. @edsheeran | #itfc pic.twitter.com/JFURJDz4A4
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) October 3, 2023
While Ten Hag’s recent struggles are unlikely to cost him the Man Utd job, the Red Devils may begin to regret their decision to let McKenna go and appoint the Dutchman if results continue to slide.
Ten Hag’s Ajax side were incredible, but Man Utd look a shadow of their former selves right now and it’s up to the Dutchman to fix that.
If he doesn’t, then the Glazers wouldn’t be blamed for casting an eye over to Ipswich and potentially attempting to persuade McKenna to return.
