Man Utd owners told they made Erik ten Hag's Man Utd job 'impossible' with decision

Alan Shearer has suggested that Erik ten Hag has been left with an "impossible" task at Manchester United after the club's owners openly sought his replacement during the summer.

The Dutch manager has had a concerning start to the 2024/25 season, which was further exacerbated by a 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (September 29).

This marked United's second 3-0 loss at Old Trafford this season, following an identical defeat to Liverpool earlier in the month. Additionally, the team has only managed to net one goal at the Theatre of Dreams in their first three league matches there.

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On Monday's (September 30) episode of The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer, alongside co-hosts Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, argued that INEOS - under the leadership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe - conducting a public search for Ten Hag's potential successor over the summer has put the 54-year-old in an untenable position at Old Trafford.

"As soon as it came out in the summer that Man United were looking at other managers, the manager was on a losing run," said the Newcastle legend.

"Even though he had his FA Cup win last year which was brilliant and they deserved to win it, as soon as it came out that they were looking at other managers last year, they just did not help him at all. It was virtually going to be impossible for him."

Several high-profile names including Brentford's Thomas Frank, former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Tuchel, and Mauricio Pochettino were considered by Manchester United. However, the club chose to stand by Erik ten Hag and even activated a one-year extension in his contract.

Lineker weighed in on the situation as he said: "It's hard to see him actually turning this around, he must be under terrible pressure, who knows what the owners think, you never know."

Following a third league defeat for United at the hands of Ange Postecoglou's side, questions about Ten Hag's future surfaced. The Dutchman confidently addressed the media, stating: "No, I am not thinking about this," when asked about the possibility of being sacked.

"We all made together this decision to stay together, as an ownership, a leadership group in the summer, also we made the decision from a clear review what we have to improve and how we want to construct a squad.

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"But we knew it will take some time, how the window went, some players late in like Ugarte. Also, we have to make some improvement in organisation, some injuries, we need some time. We are all on one page or in one boat together, the ownership, the staff and the players as well. I don't have that concern."

United's upcoming fixtures include an away game against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday (October 3), followed by a challenging visit to Aston Villa on Sunday (October 6) before the international break.