Ten Hag hails Maguire after Man Utd beat Copenhagen
Ex-Manchester United star Paul Scholes has praised the work of Erik ten Hag, amid rumours that he could be replaced by Graham Potter in the Old Trafford dugout. The Dutchman led the Red Devils to a 1-0 victory over Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Harry Maguire scoring the all-important goal.
Despite missing several big chances over the course of 90 minutes, United were almost forced to settle for a point at the Theatre of Dreams after Scott McTominay fouled Mohamed Elyounoussi in the penalty area in what looked set to be the final action of the match. Fortunately for Ten Hag, Andre Onana was on hand to spare his blushes and managed to save the resulting spot-kick – sending the home supporters into a frenzy after the full-time whistle sounded just seconds later.
A draw would have amplified speculation surrounding Ten Hag, with reports claiming that the ex-Ajax boss could be one of the first on the chopping block if Sir Jim Ratcliffe successfully purchases a minority stake in the club (25 per cent). It is claimed that the INEOS owner has identified ex-Chelsea manager Potter as his top target to replace the current United boss, with Napoli also keen on the Englishman.
However, Scholes has sung the praises of Ten Hag in a pointed message of support. He told TNT Sports: “I think he’s been a very good coach so far, I like him. He’s been ruthless in a job that is incredibly difficult, he’s essentially been thrown out to the lions in the sense of answering every single question thrown at him by the media and I think he’s handled it really well.
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“Has he put a team together that is good enough to challenge for the Premier League? No, but it looked like a good start towards the end of last season.
“We’ve come into the summer and the recruitment hasn’t been there, it’s not at the level of competing with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. There’s still a lot of work to do, but he’s the right man, whether Jim is coming in to bring someone else in or not.”
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Potter struggled whilst at Chelsea, with the overwhelming size of his squad and being forced to manage a significant workload blamed for his underwhelming tenure. Though the 48-year-old still has a good reputation within the sport due to his work at Brighton – rebuilding the club from a defensive-minded outfit into a possession-based side.
It remains to be seen whether Potter is still available after Ratcliffe shakes hands on a deal with the Glazer family to purchase a share in his boyhood club, or if the billionaire businessman has a change of heart and decides to keep the faith in Ten Hag for the foreseeable future and make his mark in other departments.
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