Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag focused on his team despite takeover distractions

Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is fully focused on his team and his job despite distractions over takeover bids.

It seems like the club will be sold in the coming few months, with bids confirmed from Qatar’s Sheikh al-Thani and British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The decision won’t be easy because there are a lot of procedures to be had before a new entity or person takes over such a massive business property.

With this happening right in between a season, especially at a time when the football team is playing one crunch game after another every three days, it could serve as a distraction for the players and the manager.

But, ten Hag does not seem to be perturbed by it and is adamant to remain fully focused on what his job is. Here’s what he said (h/t Manchester Evening News):

“Of course I know [about the bids]. There’s movement around the club but it’s not up to me. Others at the club are taking [charge of] this stuff and I have to manage the team.

“I have to make sure the team is perfect and getting the right results. Every third day we have a game so I don’t have time to get involved in stuff like this.

“It’s not distracting us. We are focusing on football, on the games and preparing in training. That is our job to do. It doesn’t distract us, so far so good.”

It is probably right that the team is alive in all four competitions, meaning they have no choice but to play important games every three/four days. What it can do is limit the distractions, because the players and the management team would be more focused on winning the next match rather than looking elsewhere.

For ten Hag, with how he has handled situations at the club so far, we can be confident of him keeping his calm and directing the players towards the right path at this time of the season.

After the results on Saturday, the game against Leicester City has gotten bigger. Win this and we are only five points behind the league leaders Arsenal, and only three adrift of Manchester City.

More Manchester United News:

• Spain ‘want’ Manchester United forward and Argentina U20 international Alejandro Garnacho to switch national allegiance
• Erik ten Hag ‘plotting’ double Manchester United swoop for Yassine Bounou and Castello Lukeba
• Chelsea and Manchester United ‘alerted’ with PSG forward Neymar available

Following this, the return leg of the blockbuster Europa League awaits before a Carabao Cup Final next weekend. So, even though there are off-field distractions, the team and the manager have enough on their plate to not look elsewhere.