- As ‘safe’ Guardiola admits mistake in tactics in Man City FA Cup loss to Man Utd
By Joel Okwara
Erik ten Hag’s warned Manchester United’s owners that he would carry on winning trophies elsewhere if they decided to sack him in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Ten Hag went into the final rocked by reports that he would be dismissed regardless of the result at Wembley.
But United’s beleaguered manager made a convincing case to remain in charge, as he out-witted City boss, Pep Guardiola, to deliver the second trophy of his turbulent two-year reign, reports AFP.
This as Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, admitted he made a mistake with his tactics in their 2-1 FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United.
Guardiola made three changes to the side that beat West Ham last weekend to clinch the Premier League title. At half-time at Wembley and trailing 2-0, he reversed two of those by bringing on Jeremy Doku and Manuel Akanji for Mateo Kovacic and Nathan Ake, the BBC reported.
Now, Ten Hag must wait to discover his fate after insisting he had not been told if he would be axed.
United co-owner, Jim Ratcliffe, and members of the Glazer family, who are the club’s majority shareholders, celebrated the team’s first FA Cup triumph in eight years from the Royal box.
It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to save Ten Hag after United finished eighth in the Premier League — their lowest final position since 1990 — and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.
United were beaten 14 times in the league — including humiliating losses to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth — finished with a negative goal difference and came 31 points behind champions City.
Yet, Ten Hag is adamant United are heading in the right direction under his guidance. And in a defiant post-match press conference, the former Ajax boss made it clear he did not fear the sack.
“When I started here, I said I’m here to win, also I want to build a team. Both I’m doing,” he said. “If they don’t want me, I go anywhere else and do what I did my whole career, winning games and trophies.”
Asked if he had received any assurances that his job was secure since the reports of his potential dismissal, Ten Hag said: “That is what they always tell me (in the past). Every time it is the same question. They don’t have to tell me every week.
“I don’t think about this. I’m in a project and we are exactly where we want to be. We are constructing a team for the future.”
Pressed on whether reports that United had talked to prospective replacements for him was disrespectful, Ten Hag said: “I don’t know if they have done this. I can’t answer this.
“I don’t have to make this decision. In the last decade, there were not so many trophies and finals for this club.”
Beating a City team that clinched an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League last weekend was undoubtedly a feather in Ten Hag’s cap.
The Dutchman, who ended United’s six-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup last season, could take credit for an astute game-plan and he admitted it was a sweet success in the circumstances.
“If you play at this level against the best team in the world, then I’m very happy,” he said.
“The FA Cup was absolutely one on my bucket list. It is a huge trophy. I’m so happy we won because it was a team performance.
“When I took over, it was a mess at United. We will go with ups and downs but the team plays with an identity.
“We are exactly where we should be. We have values in the squad, the team is progressing. Two trophies in three years is not bad. Three finals as well, but I’m not satisfied.”
Ten Hag appears to have the support of his players, with Lisandro Martinez lifting him into the air in celebration when the final whistle sounded, before he was embraced by many of his players.
Ten Hag was cheered to the rafters by United fans when he held up the Cup in the Royal box, kissing it and repeatedly shouting, “yes” as he gestured towards the celebrating mass of red in the Wembley sunshine.
If Ten Hag has earned a reprieve, he made it clear more investment in the squad is needed to compete with City in the long term.
“When you don’t have the players available, then you can’t perform,” he said of United’s injury-plagued season.
“The depth in the squad is absolutely not good enough. We strengthened the squad with our coaching but we need transfer windows to bring in players who are always available.”
Meanwhile, Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, admitted he made a mistake with his tactics in their 2-1 FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United, as he made three changes to the side that beat West Ham last weekend to clinch the Premier League title.
At half-time at Wembley and trailing 2-0, he reversed two of those by bringing on Jeremy Doku and Manuel Akanji for Mateo Kovacic and Nathan Ake.
Belgium winger Doku scored for City in the 87th minute, but they could not battle back to defend the trophy they won against United last season.
“Congratulations to Manchester United on winning the FA Cup,” Guardiola said afterwards.
“I think my game plan was not good. The second half was much much better. We were more intense, in part because we were 2-0 down and had nothing to lose. It was a tight game.
“We had clear chances in the second half which wasn’t easy because they had man-marking and defended the pockets but we had the chances and unfortunately we scored a goal a little bit late.”
It was the first time Guardiola had lost a domestic cup final in England, after four League Cup and two FA Cup successes.
“It’s normal teams can lose finals but this season has been extraordinary, fighting for all the trophies in a good way,” he added. “We’ll rest and come back next season.”
Guardiola was asked if his side was sluggish, but said: “No. For my decisions, we were not in the right positions to attack them. My mistake, my game plan was not good.”
When asked what he was trying to do, he added: “The players know the reason why. Tactically, it was not good. I was not good today. You plan a game for different positions but it didn’t work.
“Always when we play against United, we have the control and we created in the second half but we were not able to do it.”
