Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United to defy players’ preference with Erik ten Hag appointment as next permanent manager
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United are set to defy their players’ preference on who should become the next permanent manager of the club by appointing Ajax Amsterdam boss Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman was the preferred pick amongst the club officials with regards to their choice on who will replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the Norwegian was sacked last year and succeeded by Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis.
The German has been appointed until the end of the season, tasked with cleaning up Solskjaer’s mess and leading the side back into the top four of the Premier League table in order to qualify for the Champions League next term.
Given ten Hag’s impressive CV during his time with Ajax, it is easy to see why the Red Devils are keen on having him as their new head coach in the summer. If all goes well for the Amsterdam side in the remaining weeks of the campaign, they could win a domestic double as well as lift a hat-trick of Eredivisie titles – all won under the 52-year-old.
Players not consulted
In the past, the English club had taken note of what players like Cristiano Ronaldo felt about their next potential boss, with the Portuguese player taking a veto vote against the Manchester side appointing Antonio Conte as a possible manager last year after Solskjaer was sacked.
This time around, with Rangnick’s tenure as interim manager ending in the summer, the Premier League giants have not consulted the players on who they thought their next permanent manager should be by directly approaching ten Hag over the possibility of taking up the job.
Ronaldo is no doubt a big presence in the dressing room, having won almost everything available to him at the club level for different teams. At 37, he is also one of the most senior players on the team, capable of deciding the mood of the squad at times.
It is said that the Portugal captain was the one holding the dressing room together despite the 5-0 thrashing against Liverpool earlier in the campaign, with the player not revealing his true intentions of having Solskjaer as the head coach.
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However, his agent Jorge Mendes soon sought reassurances from United about sacking Solskjaer after a string of disappointing results and instead suggesting Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui as the new boss. In the end, the club brought in Rangnick on an interim basis.
Although Ronaldo has a lot of influence within the side, the club cannot allow a player to make decisions for the benefit of the team. Ronaldo is not even the captain of the squad to make such calls for others, let alone the designated leader. In this instance, the Red Devils are right not to consult the players about the man to succeed Rangnick. After all, Ronaldo’s veto vote against Conte saw the Italian join Tottenham, who sit above us in the race for top-four and could scupper our UCL football hopes next season.
