Surprise Sky Sports pundit has “sympathy” for Erik ten Hag and admits Man United have hung him out to dry

Erik ten Hag’s job as manager of Man United is hanging in the balance heading into the international break and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has admitted to having sympathy towards the Dutch coach’s situation at Old Trafford. 

The Red Devils have made an underwhelming start to the 2024/25 campaign as they currently sit in 14th place in the Premier League table with just two wins from their opening seven matches.

This follows on from a poor season last time around as Man United finished eighth in the league, in addition to finishing bottom of their Champions League group. The FA Cup win may have saved Ten Hag his job at Old Trafford but that did not stop the owners speaking to other managers over the summer.

This put the Dutch coach on shaky ground from the off this season and that was unnecessary pressure, which has made Jamie Carragher feel “sympathy” towards the 54-year-old, which may come as a surprise to many as the former Liverpool star has often been very critical of the Man United boss.

“I have sympathy for him, I think he’s been left to hang out to dry on the back of what happened over the summer with the ownership speaking to other managers,” the Sky Sports pundit has said.

“I feel for him. No manager or anyone in employment would want his bosses publicly speaking to lots of different people within the game. It’s going to be tough for him to see out the season.”

Erik ten Hag is set to learn Man United faith

Tuesday is a big day for the future of Ten Hag at Man United as the Manchester club’s board are set to meet in London.

It was reported last week by The Athletic that the meeting has been in the diary of Man United’s decision-makers for some time, but the future of Ten Hag is still set to be a big topic of discussion and according to The Times, the point the Red Devils earned against Aston Villa has not saved the Dutch coach from the sack.

Only time will tell if the former Ajax boss will be back in the Old Trafford hot seat after the international break but it is clear that his time at Man United will not last very long beyond that.