Man United sacked Ten Hag after a miserable start to the season and left Van Nistelrooy in interim charge

Manchester United finally ran out of patience and fired coach Erik ten Hag on Monday after a difficult start to the season that has left the 20-time English Premier League champions stagnating during a period of major upheaval at the club.

The Dutch coach won two domestic cups in his two-and-a-half years in charge, but paid the price for United's worst start to the season as the team lost four of their first nine league games and were in 14th place.

Heavy home defeat against strong rivals Liverpool And Tottenham left Ten Hag under a lot of pressure and seemingly changed the mood among United fans, who were prepared to give him more time. A 1-2 defeat at West Ham Sunday was his last game as coach.

United have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions.

“Erik ten Hag has relinquished his role as coach of Manchester United's men's first team,” United said, adding that Ruud van Nistelrooy, one of Ten Hag's assistants and a former striker at the club, would take over as interim head coach , while a permanent head coach is hired.

Those linked with the United takeover include former England manager Gareth Southgate, former Chelsea manager Graham Potter and former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez.

“We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us,” United said, “and wish him all the best for the future.”

Ten Hag arrived from Dutch giants Ajax and was tasked with bringing the good times back to a club that had been in decline since the resignation of former coach Alex Ferguson in 2013.

Despite winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup this year, United showed no signs of improving from their worst league season in 34 years, finishing eighth last season.

United, who never displayed a distinctive style of play under Ten Hag and often conceded late goals, are already 12 points behind first-place Manchester City in the Premier League and appear to have little hope of a title challenge and are in danger of missing out once again to qualify for the lucrative Champions League.

Just Ten Hag kept his job after an unexpected victory over arch-rivals Man City in the FA Cup final in May and a detailed review of United's year. He was then handed one One year extension to his contract until 2026.

However, the club's new football leadership – headed by new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe – was unimpressed by the pace of change and recent results under Ten Hag, who has since overseen spending of around £615 million ($800 million) on new players has arrived. In the Premier League, only Chelsea have spent more during this time.

Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, has taken control of United's football operations and installed a new CEO, sporting director and technical director in recent months. After David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag, they now have to appoint a sixth permanent manager since Ferguson's departure.

“I don’t think anyone will be really shocked after what happened yesterday,” said former United defender Gary Neville of the recent defeat to West Ham.

“The fact that they are ranked 14th is simply unacceptable. With the amount of expenditure that has been made, you can’t be in 14th place after nine games without being under considerable pressure.”

The team's next game is at home against Leicester in the English League Cup on Wednesday.

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