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After more than a year of underperformance, Manchester United finally decided to pull the plug on the Erik ten Hag project on Monday as INEOS placed Ruud van Nistelrooy in interim charge.
The FA Cup final triumph at the end of last season meant the Dutchman stayed on but results continued to remain dire and with the club languishing in 14th place following the West Ham game, INEOS finally decided to act.
Ten Hag will point to injuries and refereeing injustice but the new hierarchy and the fans saw no real style of play while his team selections frequently puzzled onlookers.
His two-and-a-half year reign saw the former Ajax coach fall out with numerous stars and that was seen from reactions of a few while there were a handful that he helped shape who expressed their disappointment at the club’s decision.
Messages of support
Club captain Bruno Fernandes’ emotional message was followed by a quartet who wished their former boss the best moving forward while regretting the way the adventure ended.
While most of his signings have been disappointments, Ten Hag did help bring through Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo and both are now bonafide stars in the first team.
And both were active on social media and sent a heartfelt message to the former United boss. Mainoo, in particular, started by thanking Ten Hag for placing his trust in him and for giving him his first team debut.
He wrote on Instagram, “Thank you for your trust and belief in me, and for giving me the opportunity to play with my boyhood club. I wish you all the best for the future.”
🔴 Kobbie Mainoo: “Thank you for your trust and belief in me, and for giving me the opportunity to play with my boyhood club”.
“I wish you all the best for the future”. pic.twitter.com/lwTOP0GM3b
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 28, 2024
The Argentine forward penned a similar note. “Thank you for everything, boss! I will always be grateful to you for giving me the opportunity and the confidence to play for this club.
“It hasn’t gone as well as we wanted, but I will remember the good times we had together and I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you very much Erik.”
Diogo Dalot, whose extraordinary miss meant the Red Devils fell to a defeat on Sunday, has been one of the most improved players under Ten Hag.
Ten Hag favourites react
From being close to the exit door under Ole Gunnar Soskjaer, the Portuguese has become one of the most important cogs in the wheel and he thanked the 54-year-old for helping him improve.
“Really sad things didn’t go the way we all wanted boss! Thank you for all you’ve done for me and for this club. Wish you all the best!”
Rasmus Hojlund, brought to the club by the Dutch tactician and backed to lead the line for the club moving forward, also expressed his gratitude to the coach.
While Ten Hag let the club down, plenty of the first team squad also disappointed and with rumours of Ruben Amorim coming to United gathering pace, these overpaid stars are fighting for their United careers, make no mistake.