Roy Keane and Ian Wright hit out at 'negativity' over Ten Hag's future (2024)

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Roy Keane and Ian Wright have hit out at the 'leaks and negativity' surrounding Erik ten Hag's future in the build-up to Saturday afternoon's FA CupFinal.

On Friday, news broke that the besieged manager was set to be sacked regardless of the outcome of Manchester United's outing against Manchester City at Wembley, on the heels difficult season.

Their final game of the Premier League season last weekend saw Man United finish eighth in the table, their lowest of the competition's era, and European football next term depends on their performance against the English champions.

To add to the furore in the build-up to the 3pm showpiece clash, Ten Hag gave an interview in a Dutch outlet claiming that he has received the backing of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team - in direct contradiction to Friday's report.

Kicking off ITV's broadcast of the event, Keane - a former Manchester United captain - and Wright both questioned how the roiling news could be allowed to cloud the run-up to a match of such vital importance.

'It’s not great, a lot of negativity around (the manager),' Keane said. 'Speculation about the manager doesn’t help but there is a reason for that noise and that negativity because United haven’t performed.

'Particularly over the last few months their league form, their performance in Europe, hasn’t been anywhere near good enough.

But Keane backed Ten Hag's players to rise above the noise, adding: 'where they finished in the league was very poor but if you’ve got a half decent dressing room you’ve got to put that negativity aside.

'You’ve got a cup final in front of you against your rivals and part of being a top professional is putting that to the side and focusing on performance. Make sure you compete with Man City, start quick and be better than last season.'

Adding that the situation of the final was 'very pressured anyway', Wright wondered if the amount of leaked information from the club was a negative sign in itself.

'When you look at the way they have done their business, what’s gone on upstairs, you wouldn’t blame them for how (the season has) gone,' Wright said.

'Maybe they want to build the structure around him like at Ajax.

'One of the things that’s strange is the amount of things coming out. These things shouldn’t be happening this early in INEOS’ tenure.'

For Alan Shearer, the club's hierarchy have acted 'disrespectfully' with regard to Ten Hag's future.

'I think he has been treated with disrespect,' the Newcastle legend told BBC 5Live.

'I think it has been wrong, this silence has been deafening from the owners who have this great business, who are brilliant at business and who have brought apparently, all the top guys into different positions.

'But no-one has said a word to or about his job, and whether it is safe or is it not. As I said from a human point of view I think that’s wrong.'

While no one from Man United has come out to deny reports that Ten Hag's tenure will soon come to an end, the club is believed to have a number of candidates under consideration to takeover from the Dutchman in the dugout at Old Trafford.

Former Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel and Ipswich's Kieran McKenna are believed to be highly favoured by the INEOS hierarchy, with the club also linked to recently departed Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, England head coach Gareth Southgate, and Brentford's Thomas Frank.

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