Erik ten Hag landed in wind and rain on Portugal’s Atlantic coast on Wednesday night looking for whatever he can get to take the heat off himself and his beleaguered team. Any Porto in a storm and all that.
United’s plane arrived two-and-a-half hours late due to the weather conditions and thick fog, and that felt entirely appropriate for a manager and a club being battered from every direction in recent days.
The pathetic defeat to Tottenham has turned a difficult start to the season into a full-blown crisis for Ten Hag who is once again battling to save his job.
A Europa League victory in Porto won’t end the speculation, but it would be a start. The 54-year-old only has one win in his last nine European games following last week’s deflating draw with FC Twente, so that will be easier said than done.
Ten Hag then goes to Aston Villa on Sunday needing to put some credit in the bank before a two-week international break presents Sir Jim Ratcliffe with an opportunity to make any changes.
Erik ten Hag’s preparation for Man United’s Europa League clash against Porto took a hit
The Red Devils’ flight to Portugal was delayed by just over three hours due to wet weather
Man United were set to fly out at 3pm but did not take off until 6:10pm from Manchester
Suddenly, it’s May all over again for Ten Hag; the rumours over his future and potential replacements, even after winning the FA Cup.
Having spoken in an interview earlier in the day about not panicking, he cut a more bullish figure after the delayed arrival in Portugal.
‘As always when we are not winning, we are very disappointed and we are also mad,’ said Ten Hag. ‘Mad with ourselves and especially when you lose a game like Sunday. From the madness, we have to get motivation and go onto the next game.’
Ten Hag confirmed that he has spoken to United’s leadership team since the Spurs game and doesn’t feel any extra pressure going into to Thursday night’s clash at the Estadio do Dragao.
‘No, because it’s not important what is external,’ he said. ‘It’s only important what is internal. We are dealing with a defeat and nothing else.
‘We talk every day and we are on a common journey. We made that agreement in the summer. We made our decisions, we refreshed and reset the staff. I appointed my assistants. We refreshed the squad as well.
‘We chose to contract young players. It’s a long-term target. We went in that boat and we will keep going.
‘It is not necessary (for them) to give me confidence, but we talk every day about how we can improve.’
Ten Hag is under immense pressure after United’s dismal 3-0 loss to Tottenham last Sunday
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be forced to make a decision on Ten Hag’s future if results don’t improve
Porto boss Vitor Bruno has problems of his own after losing to Bodo/Glimt in Norway last week, so inevitably he wasn’t going overboard in his sympathy for Ten Hag.
‘I don’t know him. I haven’t met him yet, but I would love to,’ said Bruno. ‘In Portugal, if you lose one match you are almost dead.
‘I’ve heard a lot of people saying that he was coming with a rope around his neck, but it would be a huge mistake (to underestimate them). Any club has problems but let’s see how things turn out. Ten Hag says he always wins trophies at the end of the year.’
